


What Lurks in the Dark

by Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron



Series: He loves me... [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, batfamily, incubus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-02-17 02:19:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 63,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13067091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron/pseuds/Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron
Summary: When a game night goes wrong, it's always Jason that has to bear the consequences.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written from my tablet so excuse any grammatical and spelling mistakes. I will be cleaning this up.

"This is lame," Jason said. 

He had expected at least some support in his favour, but either his family really were that stupid or he really was so remoI'm ed from them his opinion didn't matter. He kind of hoped it was the last one, as bad as it was. Being ignored because they hated him was much more favourable to Jason than the idea he actually was surrounded by idiots.

Something clipped him on the back of his head, Dick striding around until he could plop between Damian and Tim. "Come on Jay, it's fun."

"It's lame," he repeated.

Dick made a face, "You're not scared, are you?"

Jason scoffed even as his neck got hot. "Course not. Just think this is a bit childish is all. Besides, shouldn't we all have better things to do tonight than stay in and play this stupid game." He knew he personally had a drug bust that needed seeing to. 

"It's one night off. Gotham's not gonna fall if we take a break." Dick had the audacity to smile at him while he spoke, like he, out of all of them here, was just as guilty as Bruce sometimes for his obsessive need to go out every night.

"This is bullshit," Jason muttered. 

"Language," came behind him, Bruce tapping him on the nose as he joined the rest of them on the floor. "And no one is forcing you to be here Jay. I would understand if you had better things to do. I would prefer you stay, but..." 

Bruce was a class A manipulator and he knew it. As if it wasn't enough Damian and Tim were getting along, that they had all been nice to him when he showed up to this 'emergency' meeting Steph called. As if he couldn't see the clear divide between Jason and the rest of the family, something he could join if he just made the effort. No, Bruce had to use that stupid tone on him and make it his own choice whether to stay or leave. 

He could leave. He wanted to leave. But a bigger part of him wanted to stay. Even if they were doing something completely ridiculous.

Cass and Steph bounded into the room like a tornado. Steph, naturally, couldn't help but make the same scared jokes Dick had when Jason didn't leave but didn't come any closer to the coffee table either.

"You know kids play this thing right?" She chuckled.

"Don't care. It's stupid." 

Which it was because of course when they took a night off they didn't invite Jason to their movie nights. Jason knew they had them. He'd heard about them during team ups and even through the comms when he tuned in to their channel. Yet did Jason get an invite, no. Not once. Instead, when he finally was asked to the manor under false pretences it was to game night, and not twister or monopoly which brought back memories upon memories from his childhood and Jason knew he would pretend to hate but secretly love. No. They invite himto game night where the only thing on the menu is an ouiji board, five orphans and a hoarde of Alfred's brownies.

He hated this family.

"You know,"Tim said as he set up the board. "For someone who loves reminding us he's died and come back you have a weird lack of interest in the other world."

"That's because there isn't one,"Jason spat. He got six wide eyes for that comment.

Dick was the first to break the silence. "I thought you said you couldn't remember what happened."

Jason shrugged. 

"So when we- there's nothing?" Tim asked.

Jason shrugged again, knowig without the judgement of his family that he should have kept his mouth shut. In front of him were the exact reasons why people made up things like an after life. Bruce, Dick and Tim had lost everything in a horrible way. If they couldn't believe that they were alright now, that they weren't enjoying some kind of heavenly holiday then what did they have to look forward to? Why did they even bother when the people, innocent people they failed to save, weren't in a better place now?

He shouldn't have come.

Thankfully the door wasn't far, and with Jason not needing to say any mushy goodbyes he could have been out of there in seconds. Except, Alfred always had a sixth sense about when Jason would try to flee and came in with brownies and something suspiciously familiar he handed to Jason as he herded him back in.

Alfred was too good for this family.

"I will be back in an hour with supper." On the surface a polite reminder there would be more food. Underneath that a command for Bruce to behave and have Jason still here the next time Alfred came around.

Bruce was lucky Jason got sidetracked with the basket of chocolate Alfred had gave him otherwise as soon as Alfred was gone Jason would have been too. 

"You know what," Bruce said, "Even if there is nothing, it's fun. And like Dick said, you ddon't remember much Jay. For all you know there was something and you simply forgot."

Jason shrugged again, much more interestef in the goodie bag than Bruce as order was restored and hostilities deceased. Cass hit the lights, the only glow in the room now coming from the candles. Jason grunted at the change, shifting closer to one as his family gathered around the table, Tim, the little drama queen, starting the welcoming in a long droning tone.

Alfred had really outdone himself this time, Jason preened as he spotted a Dairy Milk near the bottom. It had startef when Jason was thirteen. It was the first year he had ever lived at the manor and after the bumpy moving in period he had got himself a little routine going. During the day he would hang out with Alfred while Bruce did Bruce stuff and at night he would be Robin, boy wonder and protector or the innocent. Of course, the peace had been shattered sooner than Jason would have liked and it wasn't because of his night job. He actually would have preferred that to coming down one morning to find Alfred with his bags packed at the door.

Jason had been, well, distraught. Bruce was okay to live with, much easier than what he was now, but Alfred was better. Bruce and Alfred together were better. Jason, fearing the worst, had threw the mother of all tantrums, demanding Bruce get his sorry ass out of bed to the door and apologise now for whatever he'd done to Alfred. It took ten minutes to calm him down enough to explain Alfred was merely going on vacation and he would be back before Jason knew it.

He still hadn't liked it. Had even given Alfred a hug so long he was almost late for his flight. The week without him had been horrid. Even more so because Bruce was trying his best to make it up to him.

He had been inconsolable until Alfred came back jet lagged but refreshed Monday morning and the first thing he did was hand over a small basket of chocolate.

It had become a tradition. Not only because once Jason had tasted British chocolate he had been hooked. He remembered the last holiday had been shortly before he ran off. He had left the chocolate behind, wanting to travel light and not look like he wasn't coming back. He wondered who had ate it, if they had ate it. He wouldn't put it past Dick to steal his basket. Probably thought he was honouring Jason somehow by doing it.

He knew he was being sad sat there while the rest of the family was bonding and sorting his chocolate. But Jason had a system and a way to ration his food so if he should have the munchies one lowly night after a bad patrol he wouldn't be cursing his past self for being a greedy bastard.

 He really got into his organising. So much so that when the room got cold he had honestly forgotten where he was.

Everyone was still around the coffee table, their fingers one on top of each other, but there was something on their faces, a curiosity mixed with fear that had Jason tuning in.

"What about my dad?" Tim asked, desperation clear in his voice as the families fingers moved. Whatever the answer was it had Tim paling. "He didn't-"

"Tim," Dick cut in. "It's just a game." Yet Jason could see how Dick didn't believe himself. "Bruce, it's getting late, maybe we should just end this." Their fingers still moved, Tim mouthing -C-K-D-I-C- "Bruce."

Bruce was watching their fingers like the rest of their family. Jason crept closer, almost close enough to give Damian a fright if he wanted when the candles went out and everyone's phones pinged. For just a moment, Steph's finger left the board, it was back on in a second as Bruce recognised the ping from the batcomputer and went into work mode.

They closed the session, everyone scurrying off to the cave. Everyone except Jason. He knew he wasn't welcome, not in that aspect of family life so he decided to gather up his basket and say goodbye to Alfred.

There were no calls from the family after that night, no update on what was so important to ruin 'game night'. There were no run ins on patrol or secret calls from Alfred. Which meant, that when Dick decided to pay him a visit, he didn't know what the hell he was walking into.

There were no signs of entry at his safehouse. His alarms were untampered and door handles set exactly where he left them. His food was untouched and even the mugs were still in their right place. Yet, when Jason went to his room there Dick Grayson was door open wide and shower on as he worked the kinks out of his neck.

God it was like a bad porno, so much so that Jason couldn't help chuckling as he switched on the safety and put the gun away. "You have safe houses of your own Dickie. I know, I've raided them." 

Dick smirked at him from under the spray, no quip, just one tan hand drifting from his neck to his stomach. Jason looked away, focusing instead on stripping out of his suit. He didn't have to worry, not with Dick here. Tim, maybe, Damian most definitely, but Dick, the only motive he had for tracking Jason down was either for a heart to heart or a team up. Sometimes both if the situation required. 

In no time he was down to his jock, ready to discard that too when he found his pyjamas. The shower was still on when he felt fingers on his back. They traced a scar he knew Dick liked to look at so he merely rolled his eyes as he grabbed a shirt out the drawer.

"Would you mind turning that off? I know the manor has more than enough money to support your lax shower habits, but here, I actually have a limit on my water bill a month. One I am not going over."

The fingers dipped lower, Dick's soft hair brushing Jasons back. "You're so different."

Jason huffed, shoving his shirt on and effectively stopping Dick's little exploration. So, they were going down memory lane tonight. Jason didn't know what to think of this. Past experience had shown him it would either end im crying and Jason feeling bad because he couldn't live up to his family's high expectations, or arguing and Jason feeling bad because he'd upset one of the three people who actually wanted him around.

He pulled boxers on, striding to the kitchen since he wasn't doing this without some food in his stomach. "Look Dick, I'm tired I'm hurt and I honestly can't be bothered to soothe your broken soul tonight. You think you can hang on until the morning for this talk?"

When he turned he had to take a step back, not expecting Dick to have kept this close the whole walk. Those big blue eyes Bruce told him Dick had never grown out of were fixed on him, narrowed slightly as roamed over his face.

"Dick?" He reminded.

Dick blinked, silent and still. Long enough for Jason to start looking him over in turn. There was something off about him. An essence that screamed to Jason's brain wasn't natural. There wasn't a funny smell in the air, Jason getting at least a little reaction when he leant in for a sniff. But then, not all of Gotham's concoctions had a smell. Often they were undetectable to the nose, another surprise you couldn't prepare for until you were rolling in whatever agony it created. His pupils seemed normal and so far there was only a feeling that something was wrong, no out of character behaviour anyway.

The silence was getting uncomfortable when Dick blurted out, "Can I stay here?"

Jason wanted to roll his eyes. Trust him to get all paranoid when the only thing going on here was Dick too nervous to ask to stay. He supposed he was a little to blame for it as he said yes, Jason had shot people, specifically family, in the past for trying to mooch off his kindness. 

"I'm ordering Chinese," he warned when he turned to find Dick still there, still close.

"That's fine."

No argument. Dick really must have something important to say to him in the morning.

The food came just in time for Jason to finish stitching up his arm. He sent Dick to pay, surprised when his brother came back with both food and money with no angry delivery guy.

"Should make you get the door more often," Jason praised, digging into his rice. 

Dick didn't eat. Mostly, the rest of the night, he sat close to Jason and watched him. By the time Jason went to bed he figured Bruce must have either sent Dick to babysit because someone had escaped Jason wanted to kill, or to make nice after the disaster that was game night. It was just like the old man to send Dick in.

The covers were up to his chin when the bed dipped and Dick got nose to nose with him. Jason edged back, well versed in Dick Grayson's bed habits.

"I have a couch," Jason hinted.

Dick didn't get the message, snuggling up close again. Dick was lucky Jason was too tired to press the issue further. Also that he was indebted for basically getting him a free meal, so, just this once, he went lax and let Dick octopus his way around him.

Jason would be lying if he said he hadn't woke one too many times in the night next to Dick and not envisioned his brother tossing him off. Dick was a beautiful human being. Physically, he was right in every way, not too overboard here or there, he was basically if Jason was Goldilocks just right in every way that mattered, and that had killed Jason when he had been a teen. 

Seeing the specimen of humanity he had to try and live up to popping around every other week was a form of torture. In the beginning, Jason had hated him. Hated that he would never be as flexible or fast as Dick. Of course, hate and lust always tread a fine line, so Jason wasn't too surprised when his late night solo hand jobs prominently featured him topping Grayson one way or another.

It had only, unfortunately, got worse from there. A downward spyral that one minute had him wanting nothing more than the power of having Dick finally submit to him and the next fisting himself wishing more than anything that Dick would want him as something, anything, than a little brother. That he was good enough for Dick now, not Bruce.

It hadn't faded with death. Coming back, he had hoped more than anything that his lust was gone. Nope, first sighting of Dick Grayson had him hardening in his jock and running to the nearest safe house so he wouldn't confront the Bat with a boner.

He bit back a whimper as Dick's hand rubbed gently over his clothed cock. A single finger went back, pressing in a little harder and harder again as Dick made his way to the elastic. Jason heard his breathing get harsher the longer Dick trailed over the rim. God, Dick was teasing him, it wasn't just a quick mishap in the night, Dick was actively torturing him.

A nail lifted the fabric up, scissoring a gap between skin and boxers. Jason wanted to move, to just tug them down and tell Dick to go for it. But his hands wouldn't listen to him. His legs didn't either. Or his head. Really, the only thing capable of moving was his cock, which jumped as Dick dug a nail into his tip.

A moan cut off in his throat. He wanted to clutch on to something, to Dick. He wanted to look at him, watch the hand that was creeping slowly into his shorts. But he couldn't. He couldn't and he was starting to panic. 

It wasn't excitement and anticipation holding him down. He'd had sex, he knew what those felt like. This, it was like something wad holding him down. Like his body was under a paralysing agent. 

He tried speaking, maybe telling Dick to stop and try again when Jason could be an active participent. No words came out, his jaw aching with effort. 

An unbidden thought came to him. Dick hadn't ate. He got the food for free too. It wasn't a secret what Jason's order was. Who's to say Dick didn't drug him, that he was-

He couldn't think it. Not of Dick. But then, he thought his mother wouldn't go so far to sell him out either, both of them. Family was nothing, and now Dick was showing his true colours.

He wanted to scream when Dick grabbed his cock, giving it a few soft tugs before  going at it. This wasn't how he wanted it. Dick didn't have to drug him. This wasn't fair. He tried moving his hands again, getting one a few centimetres from the mattress before it strained too much and he had to put it down.

Dick, despite the drugs, was a natural at giving hand jobs. Somehow, he knew all of Jason's likes, twisting where he should and pulling with just enough force that his body was leaking in under a minute. It was strange, usually in sex there would always be a mistake, some mishap or other that was corrected or laughed about later. Dick had none. No fumbles, no guessing. He knew Jason's body, and had him ready to cum just as his hand left his cock and pressed gently on his ass.

Traitorous as it was, his body came, cum staining his boxers as Dick milked him dry. As the last drop fell, Jason went back to sleep.

He woke with his limbs working, bolting upright to find Dick's head curled on his stomach. He wanted to punch him, to shoot him right in his pretty eyes but he didn't. He was wearing the same clothed as last night, the ones he'd went to sleep in, only, where cum should have been dried uncomfortably, he could only feel his boxers. There was no mess, and worse, no aches he definitely would have felt if he had fought a paralysing agent. He was tired, sure, but his body didn't feel violated.

Maybe- maybe it had just been a dream. A bad dream, but still a dream.

Dick rubbed his nose ungracefully on Jason's stomach, sparking a reaction he definitely shouldn't be having after a dream like that. He inched Dick carefully off yawning as he found his feet and trudged to the bathroom.

There were circles under his eyes despite the fact he had a pretty good sleep schedule. A few more hours sounded amazing until Jason spotted the time. Five, in the evening too. He'd slept a whole day away. 

Maybe he was ill.

Whatever it was, he managed to put it to one side in favour of a shower and breakfast. Dick was in the kitchen when he came out, looking well rested and as cheery as ever as he slid a box of cereal he left last time he was here over to Jason.

He ate it, feeling like he was at an execution. Any moment now Dick was going to bring up the conversation from last night. Jason didn't think he could handle this.

Yet, when breakfast was done, Dick didn't bring it up. He didn't even speak, just sat there like last night and watched Jason. 

"How are the brats?" Jason asked at last, not used too so much silence around Dick.

"Brats?"

Jason rolled his eyes. Of course Dick didn't think of them as brats, to him they were all his widdle baby brothers. "Tim and Damian. I'm guessing Timmy's recovered from game night."

A satisfied smile came onto Dick's face, "I wouldn't say recovered. Tim took the game a bit to heart. He tries not to let the others know but... you can see it in his eyes. He's thinking about it."

Jason snorted. "Was it Damian? I wouldn't put it past the kid to try and mess Tim up. Should've thought of it myself actually."

Dick pouted, "You don't think it was a ghost then?"

"Unless Deadman or Raven were around, I don't see anyone but Damian behind the messages. What did they say anyway?" He hadn't had a chance to ask. No doubt it was a bunch of generic answers to generic questions.

Dick didn't lose his smile as he shrugged, "Oh, you know, his dad's a rapist, he never liked Tim and he's burning, burning in hell."

Damian was twisted. Jason was as much horrified as he was impressed with the kids gutsyness. "He get grounded for that?"

Dick shrugged again. "Didn't stick around to see."

 The afternoon was passed in relative ease. Jason didn't bring up last night and neither did Dick. By eight, Jason was suiting up and considering this one of the more successful brotherly bonding nights. So much so, when he had attatched his last knife he asked, "You wanna patrol together?"

Dick, unlike Jason, hadn't changed into his suit. Still in nothing but the boxers Jason had insisted onto him the night before it didn't look like Dick would be going out tonight. Weird.

Sure enough, "I was thinking of staying in. Maybe ordering you something to eat for when you come in."

"That's..." weird again. "Nice. So you're staying over again?"

"You said I could stay," Dick reasoned and, well, Jason guessed he did. Sure, he had thought Dick just meant for the night but when he thought back Dick hadn't actually specified how long he was staying.

"I did," It would be rude to kick him out after all. Besides, if Dick was holing up with him and not Tim then something was wrong with the bats nest. So long as Jason was kept out of it, he didn't want to know. "'Kay. Guess I'll see you."

Patrol was interesting. Jason was tired, so tired, and in between kicking ass he caught a few power naps. It was after one of these that he woke up to find Bruce looming over him. The cowl didn't scare him like it would anyone else. Actually, Jason had woke up more times to Bruce in the cowl than out of it.

He did push himself up, just in case this wasn't a cursory visit. "Batman, what can I do for you? Your Robin fly the nest again?"

"You're tired."

"I slept. Don't worry." He slept longer than he usually did too, which was why he was so confused why he was so tired.

"Helmet," Bruce ordered anyway.

Jason bit down a snarl, unlatching his hood and letting Bruce do his thing. It was out of worry, Jason had to remind himself. Bruce was just worried, it didn't mean he didn't trust Jason to look after himself.

Progress since last year Jason would have been lunging for Bruce's throat if he even suggested Jason was incompetent.

One glove came off, Bruce peeling Jason's mask off to check his pupils as his hand went back up to check his forehead. "You're a bit clammy."

Jason actuslly felt a bit of relief at that. Illness, while it was inconvenient, could be dealt with, and it explained the tiredness too. It actually explained the dream as well. Jason had always been known to have nightmares when he was ill. Bruce said it was because Jason felt more vulnerable.

"Guess I could cut patrol short. Don't want you stalking me."

He swore if Bruce had that cowl down he would have been scowling. "Come back to the manor and I won't have to stalk you at all."

"No," Jason snorted. "No way. Damian would kill me on sight if he thought I was moving back in. Even temporarily."

Bruce sighed, "I don't like you being on your own when you're sick."

Jason thought this was the first time in his life Dick did him a favour with his lack of boundaries. "Actually, Nightwing's staying at mine tonight. So, I'm not on my own, you can stop stalking and we can part ways without a problem."

Bruce looked like he was going to demand both him and Dick back at the manor. He had before when Jason mentioned Dick crashing at his place, but this time he just grunted and ordered Jason to keep his phone on and tell Dick to do the same.

Jason gave a little salute as Bruce disappeared. 

He was tempted to find a few more fights to get into. Eventually however, Jason was just too tired and ended up back at his apartment before one o clock.

He dumped his stuff, promising to clean in the morning as he went hunting for the food Dick had promised to order.

He didn't remember eating, he didn't even remember getting into bed. What he did remember was waking up to that same heaviness in his limbs. He opened his eyes, the cieling undeniably his own as he tried to find Dick, ask for help. His eyes couldn't travel far, stuck as they were with the limited view Jason had slept in. 

Dick appeared, his eyes brighter than they should be in the night light. They seemed to glow as they looked over him, his handsome face smiling once at Jason before disappearing. He tried to call Dick back, to help, but his mouth wouldn't move.

His jock was gone, and Jason didn't remember putting shorts on which was probably why Dick had such an easy time getting to his cock.

It was already hard, the mere presence of Dick Grayson making it perk to attention. Like the night before Dick didn't fumble as he stroked him. He was sure, strong as he teased Jason's skin, rolling his balls before grabbing him, positioning him and a wet heat closed over the tip.

Why. Why was his brain doing this to him? If it was going to have sexy dreams damn well do it when he was well, when he could move and when he could actually participate. This, here, it just felt wrong despite Dick's mouth feeling like heaven itself. 

Jason wanted to watch. He wanted to watch Dick take him in, down his throat. He wanted to watch his lips wrap around Jason's cock. He wanted to watch himself be inside Dick, and struggled as much as he could against his invisible bonds to catch a glimpse.

It hurt, his head strainig and neck jarring as it followed a path that, ordinarily, would be easy. The heaviness was almost enough to make him give up. Almost. It took all he had but just as his body was ready to cum he caught a glimpse of Dick.

His eyes really were glowing. Bright blue, they were fixed on Jason's face, a smugness written all over his face. Jason fell back down, his body giving over again as his mind swore he saw wings. He went back to sleep.

Banging woke him up. Not a hammering from his neighbour, although Jason was  pretty sure he didn't have a neighbour. It sounded like it was coming from his door. 

Jason peeled one eye open, wishing more than anything to shut it again. Og God he felt worse, so much worse than yesterday. The banging didn't stop, in fact it got louder and more forceful the longer Jason ignored it.

Getting his hands under him was harder than he thought. His limbs ached, not like they had been pressed down but like he had been working out all night with no stop. He was still fully clothed, which surprised him since he was sure he had stripped. He wasn't even in his room, lying on the couch with a blanket Dick must have threw over him.

Thoughtful. If only the ass on the other side of his door was as courteous.

The door gave way just as Jason stood, Bruce filling the doorway and looking like he was ready to break bones in his armani suit. He did a quick sweep, eyes landing on Jason and next to him in a heartbeat.

Jason was kind of glad, his legs weren't co operating enough to keep him up. "Easy," Bruce cooed- actually cooed- as he lowered Jason back to the couch. "Easy Jaybird."

"Thought I told you to not stalk me."

Bruce's face hardened before softening again, probably saving his anger for when Jason was well enough to take it. "You didn't answer your phone."

"I fell asleep." He felt like he was going to again in fact, rubbing his eyes to try and keep them open. "Shoulda phoned Dick."

"I did." Bruce moved away, doing another sweep of Jason's apartment. His disappeared for a while, coming back with a bag slung over one shoulder. "Going to have to move you Jay. Think you can suffer being carried?"

Jason scoffed, mostly because he didn't think Bruce was being serious, Jason was almost as big as him after all. But Bruce wasn't joking, in two swoops he had Jason tucked in close to his chest. Bruce took a breath, a ghost just behind his eyes.

"Bruce?"

"It's nothing," he brushed off, carrying Jason easily down to his car.

The ride to the manor Jason was sure he fell asleep, or he wanted to, but Bruce was talking to him, probably more than Jason had ever heard him say in his life so he couldn't have been asleep for all of it.

Alfred was fussing the moment they stepped over the threshold. He followed the two of them up to Jason's room, his actual room too not the one he sneaked in through when he wanted a safe place to stay some nights. Tea was at his bedside, no pills since the two of them had learnt long ago Jason would always spit them out or throw them back up, not wanting to go the same way as his mom even if he knew logically these drugs helped.

Jason slept, and woke, and slept, and woke again to find Bruce still next to him. It was dark outside, late, and Bruce was here instead of out as Batman. A large hand felt his forehead, "How are you feeling?"

He stretched, yawned and sat up. "I feel like I'm not gonna collapse if I go for a piss."

Bruce let him go, ready with Alfred as back up when he came back out to try and get him to eat something. Nothing heavy, but even if it was Jason would have forced it down, he loved Alfred's cooking. 

Ice cream was for after, Jason much more enthusiastic eating that up. When he finished, Bruce made him lie down again, settling in next to him like Jason was twelve not twenty.

"B, I hate to say this but even if I wanted to leave I physically can't. You don't have to hover."

Bruce grunted. "You scared me Jay. You didn't answer my calls."

"Told you, I fell asleep. You should have phoned Dick."

"I did," Bruce hissed. "You know what he said? He said he hasn't seen you in weeks. I know you don't want me to hover, but Jay, I can't help it if you lie to me."

"No," no, this wasn't right. "He was there. He's been around for two nights now. Bought me pizza and everything. If he says he hasn't been around he's lying." 

"Jay he's been at the manor. I thought he was going over to check on you but he said you hadn't invited him over."

"He was there," Jason insisted.

He could see Bruce physically stop himself from arguing back. They were both stubborn like that, not liking to back down. But Jason was ill and therefore won by default all the time. It was just how it went.

Bruce stayed with him all night, and when noon came he helped Jason down to the kitchen, even if by then he was well enough to go on his own.

He felt refreshed. Like those past two nights he had been kept up instead of left to sleep. He didn't even need coffee to wake him up that was how well he was feeling. Which was just as well since Tim was like a rabid dog with the manor's coffee machine.

Everyone was already up when Jason joined them. Lunch was being served Damian trying to stab Tim around Dick's mediating form. Life as usual.

"Where's Cass?" Jason asked, taking the seat Bruce so graciously held out for him.

"Your apartment," Tim said. "She went to clean up before rats got in."

Rats? "My apartment?" He made sure. 

Tim nodded. "It was no wonder you got sick living like that."

"My apartment?"

Tim nodded again.

No. Jason refused to believe this. He kept a clean house. Extremely clean. Sure, he may have forgotten to put his gear back before Bruce broke his door in but, as far as he knew his apartment had been clean.

"If it was dirty it wasn't my fault," he directed a look at Dick.

His brother held his hands up. "Don't know why you're looking this way Jaybird. I haven't been near your place."

"Er, yes you have."

"Jay-" 

"No.I'm sick of being called a Iiar. You were at my place, you hogged my shower, you forced me to cuddle and you ordered me food and don't try and say I was seeing things because I know what's real when I'm sick. So what is it? What's so bad about me that you have to lie Dick?"

Dick opened his mouth a few times, looking at the rest of the table for support, Jason saw Bruce shake his head slightly next to him. "Jay, I swear, I haven't been near you. But if you want a hug-"

Jason didn't bother with breakfast. Not if everyone was going to call him a liar.

He holed himself up in the library, finding his old book collection just as Bruce carried Jason's would be breakfast in. "They still calling me a liar?"

"Jay..." Bruce didn't deny it, just handed over some toast it looked like he had made, which meant it was completely inedible. "How long have you been unwell?" He changed the subject.

Jason shrugged, "Two days. Just after Dick showed up and he did," Jason insisted. "But that doesn't explain my apartment. You didn't mess it up did you when you went through my stuff?"

Bruce shrugged his head. "It was already a mess when I came in. I honestly don't know how you were living in it. I know how you like to be neat."

"I do, and I hardly think a few guns left out was messy."

Bruce looked him over again. "Jay, it wasn't just guns. The food in your cupboards were rotten, the bed was ripped. It looked like someone had been violently murdered. There was even blood, in the bathroom and- Jay have you looked at your legs?"

No, he hadn't. So far there had been a kind of numbness about them. He turned away, peeling his sweats off and finding bandages wrapping around his thighs. Since Bruce was probably the one who wrapped them Jason had no qualms about stripping in front of him. The bandages were more or less ripped off Bruce leaving to get more as Jason beheld the mess on his skin.

He had scars on his thighs. He'd had them since he was Robin, one of them from before he was Robin. These however, weren't scars. They were a brand. They were fresh, still red and spelling out letters that Jason didn't have to spend long deciphering.

Dick. They said Dick.

Thing was, it didn't look like his handwriting, and while Jason was sure carving into your own skin wasn't the same as writing on paper he knew his own handwriting when he saw it. This wasn't it.

For one, it was far too elegant. Far too precise. As out of it as he probably had been there was no way he could have done this. No wonder Bruce had been worried.


	2. Chapter 2

Bruce was careful bandaging his legs up. Jason just sat there and let him, not taking his eyes off the brand until it was covered up.

When it was, he sat up, steepling his fingers as he tried to figure this out. 

Dick. It could be a reprimand. Maybe his loopy self had thought it would be funny to remind his regular self just what he thought of it. But, no, it just didn't feel right. It looked like a name, Dick's name, which begged the question why the hell it was branded on Jason's thighs. Ownership was the main reason something like this happened. He'd seen victims of enough abusive relationships to knownthe abuser thought notjing more about their victim than that they were a possession. Branding was pretty common in those cases. But he and Dick were not a couple, and, even if they were, there was no way in hell Dick was sadistic enough to carve his name into Jason's skin. He calls Alfred whenever Damian so much as gets a paper cut after all. So maybe, perhaps, it hadn't been Dick. Maybe Jason in his sickness wanted to belong to Dick, his dreams definitely messing with his brain enough for it to be a possibility. 

But the handwriting. It all came back to the handwriting. It wasn't Jason's. 

He mulled on it the rest of the afternoon, the family pretty much leaving him alone to do stuff. He knew Damian didn't want him around, Jason being another obstacle between himself and Bruce. No doubt the kid was either pulling a sulk or trying to gain the attention of Bruce or Dick in one way or another. 

Tim, well, Tim had every right to avoid him, and Jason didn't blame him. Hell, sometimes Jason still thought about killing the kid. Although, that was usually because Tim had said or done something like told on him to Bruce so in a way it was kind of his own fault.

Dick was probably playing peacemaker. Jason was low on the priority list right now. Being sick should have boosted him to the top, but what with Jason's little display and the fact Damian was probably using Tim in his bid for attention, Jasom was back to the bottom.

He wished Cass was here. She was the only one that didn't bother him. But Cass was still out which meant Jason was stuck with option number five for company.

Bruce was in and out of the library the rest of the afternoon. He was like a fly that couldn't quite figure the way out. When he saw Jason was just thinking, he buzzed off to somewhere else, his daddy senses telling him his robin wasn't moving anytime soon. Yet, when Jason, still hadn't moved, but began reading one of his old books, Bruce, instead of buzzing off, got his signals mixed and decided to sink next to him and not so subtly read over his shoulder.

"Don't you have kids to look after? A job to do?"

Bruce ran a hand through Jason's hair. "You are my kid, and work can wait. Tim's more than capable of overseeing anything important that comes up."

Jason grumbled a bit, even more so when Bruce took the book off him and actually read to him like he was twelve years old again. Yet, as time wore on and his eyes got heavier, he was actually kind of glad Bruce had taken over, he didn't think he could have made it to the end of the chapter the way his vision blurred.

Bruce must have carried him back to bed, and Jason hoped to God they hadn't had an audience along the way. That was all he needed, Damian finding just another reason to be jealous.

The curtains were drawn, a slither of light escaping enough to tell Jason he had slept for a while. He stretched, finally feeling a bit like his old self as he trudged to the bathroom. 

The circles under his eyes were almost gone, and the pale gaunt skin he'd forced himself to look at these past few days had filled out and gained colour again. The shower also helped, wiping away the last of the smell and stickiness sickness forced on him.

He was near cheery when he went back to his room. Enough that when he saw Dick perched on the end of his bed he didn't immediately kick him out. He must have just woke up too, Jason unsure whether Bruce had actually went out last night as well as he pulled his clothes on.

"What do you want then?"

Dick held something out, his hands cupped around it as a sheepish smile broke onto his face. "Thought I would say sorry." It was a cupcake. A chocolate cupcake. "They call it devil's cupcakes. I thought it was funny," he waited, like he was expecting Jason to have an opinion on it.

"Thanks?" He took it, eating it when Dick still didn't move and, wow. Wow. He didn't think he'd ever had anything so nice in his life. "Where did you get this again?"

Dick shrugged, "Y'know, around."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Alright be cryptic. But just know that I'll be expecting you to deliver when I ask for them."

"Sure," Dick agreed all too easy for the guy who readily complained about fetching food if he was staying over at someone's.

They lapsed into silence, Jason stripping his sheets so he wouldn't be surrounded with his sickly smell and Dick just sitting there at the edge of his bed watching him. 

"So, you forgive me?" Dick asked eventually.

"So long as you tell the truth next time, yeah." It was better to forgive anyway. Dick just made it hard to stay mad at him. Usually because he had the urge to pester whoever he'd angered until they forgave him. 

"Wow. And here was me thinking I would have to go to confession."

"Confession?"

There had been something in Dick's voice, a hypnotic lilt that got worse when Dick leaned close to him. "Well, usually it's insited that the Almighty is the one who must forgive me. And I do love those booths."

Jason laughed, "Are you serious? You thought I was gonna drag you to church just for lying to Bruce. You hit your head or something?"

Dick sat back, the lilt gone in place of small blinks, the picture of confused innocence. 

Silence reigned again as Jason tossed the sheets on the landing for Alfred or Tim to grab on their way down. He wondered briefly if Cass was back yet, he wanted to ask about his apartment. Yet, the thought of actually going to look for her would mean he would probably bump into someone else. Dick Jason could keep captive, but the rest of them would tell on him to Bruce and Alfred. Jason needed a break from them, so he went back in, grabbed Dick and burrowed under the stripped covers.

Dick was still, his eyes wide as Jason got comfortable. He wrapped an arm around his brother, pinning him to the bed. "Don't get any ideas," Jasom warned. "It's just so you won't go telling Bruce I'm awake."

"Bruce... he's here?"

"Don't know," He could have went out. It looked early evening but Bruce had been known to go out early. "Not taking any chances though."

"Okay," Dick agreed, finally cuddling up.

He didn't know if his nightmares were returning when he woke to soft kisses on his nose. He didn't feel like he had in the last ones, meaning, that when he tried to move his wrists he could. The kisses didn't stop, each one getting longer, lower down, until it caught the top of his lip.

"Dick?"

A soft hum replied, the lips on his peeling back to bite gently.

"What are you doing?" Nightmares were one thing. This didn't feel like one, but real Dick would never kiss him. He just wouldn't. So Jason refused to let himself get excited, turning his head away and back into his pillow. This was just another dream. A dream, not nightmare, as Dick, not put off, started on his shoulder.

He could hear as well as feel Dick kiss his shoulder, his teeth coming out more than Jason thought they would as he went down.

It felt good. Amazing, and when Dick started dragging Jason's boxers down, he lifted his thighs to help him. Jason felt a smile touch his lower back, his thighs feeling the heat that came off the rest of Dick's body as it rocked slightly into them.

"I didn't think you would be so amendable." A short kiss grazed his ass, Jason feeling no shame whatsoever as he basically presented himself to Dick in response. Dicks hands parted his thighs, hooking themselves under, spreading his cheeks as the next kiss ended with his tongue teasing, feather light, the top of his cleft. "No complaints? You usually kick me out when I leave you like this."

Jason groaned, bucking himself up until he felt Dick's nose bounce slightly off his skin. "You talk too much. God just do it."

He felt a huff and the last of a pout before Dick was diving down and eating him out. He was as skilled here as he had been in the other dreams. His tongue was inhuman as it licked his rim, poking in every other swipe. It seemed to be longer than what Jason expected it to be, reaching places Jason hadn't known a tongue could. 

In a matter of minutes he was raised on his knees, Dick's hands spreading him in a way that would have hurt anyone else. But Jason was a Bat, and, well, flexibility came with the job, so he reached back, his face uncomfortably smushed against the pillow now his suppory was gone, and helped Dick get those last few centimeters wide.

Dick's hands left now Jasons had taken over, stroking over his hips before curling over the front of his thighs. A sharp tinge of pain interrupted his pleasure drenched mind, Jason feeling the path Dick's fingers were taking, tracing the D.

He pressed in again, Jason's thigh tingling in pain just as Dick dipped down to lick a stripe from Jason's balls to his rim. It shouldn't have felt good but it did. He felt like he was on fire, and it was only getting worse.

"Stop," Jason gasped as Dick dug harder on his thigh, the pain taking precedence. "Dick, stop."

He did, relatching onto his cock instead, stroking him softly in apology. Pleasure took over again, building and building until he came so hard his tighs shook and fell under him. 

"Mine," he heard before drifting off once again.

He woke to find Dick sitting on top of him. He had been batting Jason's cheek softly, still clothed- or as clothed as Dick was when he slept- and since the sheets were dry and Dick didn't look like he had a long awkward conversation to be had with Jason he was safe to think that last night had been a dream. One he kind of wanted to get back to.

"What?" He croaked, stopping Dick from hitting him again.

"It's five. Shouldn't you be up?"

Five? "Up?" He looked to the left hoping to see the pm sign. Nope, am greeted his vision. "Dick, what the hell?"

Dick cocked his head. "But it's Sunday. Shouldn't you be up by now?"

What? "Dick, I don't know what you think I do with my life, but unless I'm undercover I don't get up at five am for anything." Just to drive his point home, he turned, Dick sliding slightly off him, pulled the sheets up to his chin and closed his eyes. He was back to sleep in seconds.

Bruce woke him next time, he had Jason sat up, leaning against his chest as Alfred tried to force somethig down his throat. Jason spat it back up, pushing weakly against Bruce. They knew, they knew he hated drugs.

"Get off. Go away!" Even his voice was weak, barely heard as Bruce tried to keep him still. 

The drugs were taken away, Alfred getting them out of sight as Bruce rubbed Jason's back. 

"You know I hate them," Jason coughed.

"I know," Bruce soothed. "I'm sorry. But you had a fever and you weren't waking up. Alfred was talking about taking you to the hospital if you didn't wake up by midnight."

Jason groaned. He had been feeling better. He had been well. This wasn't fair. "I wanna sleep."

Bruce shook him a bit. "Sorry Jaybird, but if you don't want to be admitted I have to keep you up for a while." Was it really that bad? He just felt tired. So, so tired.

He nodded, letting Bruce pick him up and take him out of his room. He thought they would be going to the library again, he loved the library with its warm walls and comfy chairs. Yet when they came to the double doors Bruce kept going. He passed the games room to, stopping only when they got to Bruce's study. Oh, they were going to the cave. Fun.

The cold hit him like a sheet of ice. The manor was always warm despite the fact it should have been a nightmare to heat. The cold, at least, woke him up, like Bruce was probably hoping it would. He was given the honour of sitting in Bruce's chair, the man himself grabbing another as he started handing birdarangs to Jason. 

Inventory was boring, but it was work that had been ingraned in him to pay attention too. Especially because he was handling sharp, dangerous objects. 

Bruce spoke to him every now and then, asking small questions that didn't take much thought. He knew Bruce had bigger questions but since Jason was ill and very volatile when he was sick Bruce saved the big questions for later.

Some time later Damian skipped down to the cave, stopping with a scowl when he spotted Jason. "Still alive?"

"Yep."

Damian scoffed, "And here was I believing you were the easy Robin to kill."

"Damian," Bruce warned before Jason could retort. The little demon huffed, storming off to the suit rack. "He's just worried," Bruce excused. "We all are."

"Big case?"

Bruce gave a pointed look to Jason. Right, they were worried about him.

Bruce rubbed a hand over his face. "Is there anything you're not telling me Jason? Anything I should know?"

"Like?"

Bruce didn't say but Jason could read between the lines. Had Jason taken anything suspicious. Had he been drugged by an outside source. Had something happened around his apartment area. It wouldn't be the first time Gotham had been attacked by an unnatural plague.

"No," Jason could say. "Nothing. You know I don't take any crap. As for others, the only bad guys I've beat up these days are gang bangers and rapists." He tried to think if it could have been anything else and came up with nothing. He held his arm out. "I know you've probably already done them," which was a huge violation he left out, "but you can run some tests if it will make you feel better."

Bruce took him up on it, a vial full of Jason's blood running fifty tests in a few minutes. 

He yawned, feeling consciousness slip away the longer Bruce left him. He'd almost dropped off too when someone slapped him, full on slapped him, in the face. Damian was glaring at him, his face red and hand still raised as the slap echoed off the wall.

His breathing was heavy as he looked Jason over. "Father didn't say you could sleep Todd."

Jason rubbed his cheek, the brat having put unbelievable strength behind that hit. "So you shout not hit me kid." Ow. If anyone should have been upset it should have been him not Damian.

"I did," he hissed.

He stayed glaring at Jason until Bruce came back, tattling on Jason for sleeping and demanding something be done about it.

Jason was forced to stay awake for more than an hour. Bruce had him awake all through the family suiting up. He made Jason pay attention through the beginnings of patrol too, having him look at maps that made his head ache until, finally, Bruce said he could take a rest. 

He didn't bother even attempting to get back to his room, just hunkered down onto a medical cot and gave into the tiredness. 

He felt a bit better, again, when he woke. It was later in the night, four in the morning really, which meant that Damian and Tim were getting in from patrol. The others would be out for another hour, cleaning up or tracking down one last lead before giving up. Bruce was ready with gauze for Damian, scolding him quietly for one mistake he made through the night. 

Damian took it all with only a few minor arguments, Jason wondering when he would grow out of that habit and go for the shouting approach the rest of them took to try and justify their actions. Tim was barely better than Jason when he came out of the showers, stumbling and yawning his way up the stairs to bed.

He was tempted to go up too, but one small angry twelve year old appeared before him before he could. 

"What?"

"You look better," Damian noted.

"So?"

Damian's eyes narrowed, "You looked well yesterday before you took ill again."

He had, Jason remembered. He'd even took a shower, sure that he would be fine this time today. "So?"

Damian scrutinised him again before stalking off to Bruce. Jason didn't try lip reading, just fell back and drifted. 

Dick woke him when he curled under his chin. Jason wanted to push him off, sick of cuddles with the day he was having, but Dick was so warm, and the cave was so cold, so he let Dick stay. 

His skin felt like it hadn't been out in the cold at all where it brushed up against Jason. Smooth and soft Jason couldn't even find a scar as he curled his hand around Dick's back. He would have gotten suspicious had Dick not just planted a small kiss to his lips. 

Right. A dream. He hated being sick.

He couldn't find the effort to turn away when Dick started kissing him properly which was strange, he thought. In dreams, he was sure he wasn't usually this lethargic. In his last one he certainly hadn't. The other's, well, he'd been paralysed in those. But this one, he felt every inch of his tiredness he had when he was awake.

Dick's hand crept into his shorts, teasing Jason and Jason just, couldn't. 

"No," he pushed away, Dick grabbing him when he sat. "Dick, no. I don't- not now."

"Jay," Dick whined, pushing himself on top. "Jay, I thought you'd forgiven me."

"I have." He tried to get Dick's hands off him, his thighs off his chest. "Just not now."

"Why?" Dick hissed.

Jason managed to put some force behind his next shove, enough to startle Dick into sliding off. Jason didn't waste time and ran away from the nightmare that was waiting for him on the medical cot. 

The cave stairs almost did him in, there were so many of them. But once he got to the manor Jason felt like he'd got a new lease on life and walked the halls until he came upon something familiar. 

Bruce, he was like a bright light in the darkness of his nightmare. Loathe as he was to admit it Jason had always felt safe around Bruce. Even after all they had said and done to each other Bruce was still his dad. He was still the guy who had took him in and shown him a life he never would have had living on the streets. 

Right now, he was in the library, talking to Dick of all people. Jason would have stepped back and gone somewhere else as soon as he saw Dick but, this didn't feel like a nightmare any more. Dick was safe and so was Bruce. 

He hoped his real self was tucked up in bed. No doubt Bruce had brought him up when the last of his chicks had trudged in from patrol. As for his dream self, Jason curled up in the nook Bruce left, ignored the stiffness as he usually did as Bruce fumbled about what to do, and tried to drift back into a dark sleep.

It almost worked too. Except, just as Jason was on the edge of sleep, he felt someone stroke his nose, his cheek and a whisper tickling his ear, "You remember what happens when you say no Jay." Darkness overcame him.

 Jason heard screaming. Real, high pitched in terror screaming. He raised his head, ready to shout at whoever dared to disturb his sleep when he saw Damian. He was the one screaming, which was a scary enough sight in itself since the kid never screamed. Not even when he was facing certain death, and Jason had been with him enough times to know this reaction didn't just happen. 

Yet, there Damian was, standing in the middle of the hallway, screaming.

"Damian?" He sat up just as Damian's screams turned to sobs. Crap, the kid was crying. "Damian what's wrong?"

Alfred got there before Jason did, appearing out of nowhere and hurrying Damian away, his face covered in Alfred's shirt. Crap.

Jason thought of Bruce. He was usually first on the scene to anything. He knew they had their issues but Jason didn't want anything to actually happen to the man. His heart beat fast in his chest as he turned in the doorway.

Well, it wasn't Bruce. But God it was ugly.

Titus, and Jason had always liked that dog, despite the fact it took Damian for them to get one in the first place, was now in doggy heaven. Alfred had been right to herd Damian away, Jason could barely stomach looking himself. 

His head and four limbs were all scattered in a kind of circle. The blood was still a bit wet, shining slightly in the sunlight as it connected each of the limbs together. In the middle of it all was where the rest of Titus lay, one big pile of torso and innards, the murderer not even allowing that part of him to remain intact. 

Bruce came just as Damian started screeching again, skidding to a stop next to Jason and looking just as horrified as Damian and Jason were. 

The bat took over, Bruce turning professional as he sent Jason further into the house to where he was told Damian and the rest of his siblings had been taken. Considering Jason was fine to walk today, he had no problem walking away from the crime scene. 

Damian was shaking, his eyes still wet as he shouted at everyone that came near him. Dick was the only one who managed to avoid the fists and kicks, hugging Damian close to his chest and rocking him as he let out some of his grief.

Jason took a seat next to Cass, his sister the only one not shouting, since Tim gave as good as he got when Damian started screeching at him, or soothing. He really liked Cass. Alfred brought in breakfast when Damian had quietened down again, telling them all that Bruce didn't want them near the carnage, and since the kitchen could only be reached through that corridor from here, they were all effectively stuck with whatever Alfred brought them. A perfect opportunity for Alfred to install some healthy cooking, not so good for Dick who liked nothing but sugar to wake him up.

Things got worse when coffee wasn't brought up. The longer without the more sullen Tim got until both he and Damian were nuclear bombs waiting to go off. 

"So," Jason said when the silence got too much, "Which one of you did it?"

Four icy eyes turned on him. "What?" Tim asked.

"Well it wasn't me. I was asleep."

The glares didn't lessen. "So it just had to have been one of us?" Tim hissed. 

Jason shrugged, "Way I see it, this was way too neat to be anyone else."

He expected arguments, was ready to defend himself when he saw Tim rearing up, probably for an actual fist fight with the way he tensed his arm, yet, "Jason's right." They all turned to Dick. "Think about it, Titus didn't even bark. I was in that room until, like, six, with Bruce. Whoever did it would have had to A, been able to get past the manor's defences, B, know when we all went to sleep, and C, there would have been more damage if it was someone Titus didn't know."

 Damian sniffed, tearing himself away from Dick to stand in the middle of them all. "Grayson is right. One of you killed him and I swear when I find out who-"

"Dami not helping," Dick said. 

"They killed my dog!" 

"I know," Dick soothed. "I know, but nothing's going to be solved with shouting. For all we know it's not one of us. Maybe someone did manage this and we're missing something. All we can do is look at the facts, wait for Bruce and calm down."

Damian stomped his foot, looking for all the world like the eleven year old he was meant to be before sulking his way back over to Dick. 

When everyone was settled again, and Damian didn't look like he was going to murder someone for just talking, Dick started again. "Okay, first thing's first, we sort out our alibi's. Where was everyone between four and-"

"Seven," Jason supplied. "The blood was still wet."

Dick nodded, "Okay, seven."

They didn't have to wait long, Tim still sore about being a suspect said, "I was in bed. I came in at four, took a shower, and went straight to sleep. I didn't even know Titus was dead until I heard Damian screaming."

"Any way you can prove you stayed there the whole night Tim?" Dick asked.

Tim huffed, knowing how this went. "No."

"Sorry little brother." Tim was now on the list of suspects.

Damian's story was the same as Tim's. Only, Alfred the cat needed something to eat at five which had Damian up. Alfred the human, he said, could vouch for this story, and Damian's whereabouts until he found Titus on the way back up. 

This, at least, explained how Titus was roaming the manor instead of with Damian.

Cass had gotten in at six after being at Steph's all night. She saw Alfred and Damian and was chilling in the kitchen with them when she heard Damian. So far, only one of them had time to commit a murder. 

Jason held his hands up next, "Well, I'm ill and have been sleeping so- yeah, not me."

Which just left Dick. Their older brother sighed, "Well, I came in at four twenty. Got showered, changed and went to the library. Bruce had something he wanted to talk about and we did until, like, five when Damian came down to feed Alfred. Not long after that, Jay comes stumbling in, curls up next to Bruce and I'm being sent to bed."

"Wait," Jason said, "I thought Bruce brought me up."

"No," Dick dragged. "You walked up. Bruce thought you were going to collapse, I tried to help you but you just walked over to Bruce."

Jason remembered that. He remembered coming up but, "That had been a dream."

"It wasn't Jay."

"No. No it had been because I remember it. I remember it was a dream because I left you down in the cave and then came up here. You weren't in two places at once so it had to have been a dream."

"Or..."

"I know what's real Dick," Jason hissed. 

His brother held his hands up in a calming motion. "Okay Jay. I'm just saying, maybe you dreamed the first bit and came up here after."

Damian reared up, "So Todd was sleepwalking? Maybe-"

"No Dami," Dick said, nipping Damian's little idea in the bud. "Trust me when I saw walking was putting it lightly. He could barely move. There was no way he could have done this."

Damian huffed, hunkering down again. 

"Well, that's everyone accounted for," Tim noted.

"Not everyone," Jason said. 

"Bruce?" Tim asked, and, yeah, Jason could see why it was a ridiculous thought.

But, "We have to do this right. Which means thinking about everyone that was in the manor last night. Bruce was one of those people."

"Well, I can account for until I went to bed. After that, I think he went down to the cave to check on your test results."

"You don't know for sure?" Jason asked. Dick shook his head. "Well, that makes two suspects.

"Father wouldn't. He has no motive, unlike Drake."

"Hey! I loved that dog," Tim growled. 

"Not that much if you murdered him."

Jason hadn't missed being around these two that was for sure. They could go from zero to fifty in a matter of seconds. It took both Dick and Cass to get them separated, and even then Damian managed to throw a knife hidden somewhere on his person at Tim.

There were three more fights before Bruce, finally, graced them with his presence. He took his stance next to Jason, feeling his forehead as he told them the news. Bruce said, from the way Titus was dismembered it looked like more than one person. That his limbs had been ripped from his torso. Ripped, not cut, which meant something with strength had done it. Bruce had checked the cameras around that hallway, telling them that, somehow, they had went offline for no longer than two minutes before coming back on, the damage having been done. So, fast and strong, and able to cut Bruce's technology.

"It looked like it was fast," Bruce offered, Damian having listened to it all in silence. "I don't think Titus suffered."

Damian tutted. "Father I have seen crime scenes, I have made them. Do you not think I know how much pain is caused to kill something in that manner. Titus' death was fast, and he definitely suffered."

Dick pulled Damian in for a hug, the brat actually allowing it. Dick turned to Bruce, "You think this has anything to do with...?"

"Maybe."

"What?" Jason asked.

Bruce ran his hand through Jason's hair, a placating gesture if Jason had ever seen it. "Nothing you need to worry about."

Jason stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Of course Bruce was keeping him out of the loop. He wasn't close knit with the family so he wasn't allowed to know the good stuff. It wouldn't have been so bad, but when Jason looked around it seemed like he was the only one in the family who didn't have an inkling what they were talking about. 

The hallway had been cleared, Bruce telling them that they had to be on their guard for something suspicious as he retreated to the cave. Alfred came to get Damian, telling him that there were preparations to be made for Titus' funeral. Cass went too, and since Dick was busy following Bruce that left Tim as his babysitter. 

Jason wasn't happy about it, but since it was either let Tim sit with him or be dragged down to the cave, Jason took his chances with the kid. 


	3. Chapter 3

Tim was an okay babysitter. He stayed near and kept quiet, all key components Jason required in someone looking after him.

Since Bruce had quickly nipped in the bud the idea that anyone in the manor was a suspect, Tim was, once again, allowed to walk the halls without having to  worry about Damian seeking revenge. Unfortunately for Jason Tim used this freedom to herd him back to Tim's den. 

Jason had expected a lot from the so called perfect son. He had expected tech everywhere, books lining the walls and mini bat projects stolen from the cave here or there. What he hadn't expected was the reality.

"And you called me messy," Jason snorted.

Messy was a polite way of explaining Tim's room. There were plates squirreled away under sheets or on tables. There were books, sure, but Jason thought they were better used for keeping stuff up than for reading. Clothes littered the floor and bed, Tim tip toeing around it all far too easily for someone survivng in this mess. Really, the only thing that was spotless was Tim's laptop, and even that, right now, was sitting next to a pile of goo Jason didn't look too close at.

"Does Alfred know about this?"

Tim looked around, seeming for all the world like he saw nothing wrong. "Of course he does."

Jason wondered if Alfred had simply given up then. He wouldn't put it past the man. After Dick pretty much leaving the manor destroyed whenever he came he was probably happy that Tim kept his little tornado habits to one area.

"You can sit down," Tim said, already on his back typing something in his phone.

Jason was tempted to tell Tim they weren't staying here but, one, he didn't want to encourage Tim to spread his habit further than his own room, and two, well, he was tired and his own room was so far away. So he huffed instead, asking 'Where?" And sat in the sorry little gap of cleanliness Tim pointed to.

Jason napped most of the afternoon away. Once he had cleaned his little spot enough to lie down that was. He was woken once by Damian, the kid kicking Tim's door in to demand 'Todd' so he could clean his bandages. Jason figured Bruce had put him up to it to get his mind off Titus. Either that or phrased it like a mission since Damian was damn right gentle as he unwrapped the old.

 When they were off, Jason felt the room shift from restrained annoyance to blatant curiosity. Mostly because he heard Tim slide off his bed and pad closer. He felt like a bug under a microscope as the two of them stared at his thighs. He had the urge to cover up, or maybe make a joke, something that didn't warrant his little brothers looking so closely at his naked skin.

Tim was the one to break the silence, a curious "Huh," falling from his lips.

"Huh?" Jason repeated. Of all the responses, huh hadn't been it. 

Tim scratched his head, bending down a little to look closer. This time Jason did cover up a little, scowling when Tim sent the same look his way. "I just want to look."

Jason covered up more, "Do I look like a free show to you? Either buy a ticket or piss off."

A grunt too batlike for Jason's liking passed Tim's lips before he was retreating back to his side of the room.

Jason gave Damian a little nudge, the kid having done nothing but stare at the scratches, or Jason's hands now, since he'd finished unwrapping. "Kid?"

The nudge worked, Damian grabbing the new set and whacking Jason's hands away with more force than he thought necessary. He was gentle here too, Jason definitely sensing Bruce's influence as Damian tied the final knot.

"That was not your handwriting," Damian said at last.

Jason shifted away, pulling his sweats back up. "It's on skin Damian. It's not like it's gonna be my best work."

Damian scowled, looking like a mini Bruce when he did. "That is not the point Todd. The angle, the way it was written it sll suggests they were opposite you, there is no way you could get your hand to twist the correct way to do the flick of the K. Not with your workout routine anyway. Then there is the writing itself-"

"Alright, alright," Jason snapped. He didn't want to hear this, he knew all this himself, and he couldn see Tim perking up, ready to add his own observations in. "Look, there may have been a period in my week where someone could have slipped in and done it. I don't know, and I don't appreciate the third degree about it. Just drop it okay?"

Damian cocked his head, reminding Jason all too well like Dick from his nightmares. "I don't understand, you don't recall getting these marks?"

"Does it look like I do?"

Damian and Tim shared a look. Actually shared a look like they hadn't been sworn enemies a few minutes prior. 

"What?"

"Jay," Tim started slowly, like he was speaking to a child, or someone dumb. It was no wonder he wanted to bash this kids head in when he did stuff like this. "You should remember if this happened. That is far too precise not to have been painful."

He stopped himself from snapping. "I know," he said instead. "And yet, until Bruce pointed it out to me, I didn't have a clue it was there." They shared another look. "Drop it," he said again.

They did, this time, Damian mentioning some progress in the cave he had to get back to. Jason tried to nap as soon as the door closed, feeling like this time he actually was getting better. He just needed a few more hours and then he could safely fly this nest.

Of course, Tim didn't get the message. As soon as he thought enough time passed that Jason was asleep he tried to sneak another look at Jason's brand. 

At first, Jason didn't know who the fingers belonged to. He was in that inbetween realm of sleep and awake. Enough that when Tim came a creeping he thought it was Dick. His body seized, torn between letting it happen or turning away again. Thankfully, Tim made a squeak of distress, scuffling back a few inches. His little brother instead of his big brother was easier to deal with, especially when Tim started to make a game out of it.

He supposed, from Tim's point of view he was playing a far more dangerous 'What's the time Mr Wolf' getting as close as he could to Jason before one jerk or grunt sent him back to the start. Jason probably would have liked to play. If he wasn't the wolf and wasn't yearning to sleep that is. Yet he was, so after a while he fully blamed Tim for the jerks and grunts turning into swift punches and kicks. He fully blamed Tim too for trying again and being sat on for his efforts.

"Get off," Tim choked, struggling under Jason's weight. He wondered, briefly, if this was what it would be like if he stuck around more. A lot of wrestling, a lot of name calling. Ordinary big brother things. Either way, when Tim called him fat, he didn't hesitate a second before jumping his weight back onto him.

They had to call a truce when Alfred called them for dinner. Jason was surprisingly well enough to get downstairs by himself, and even had an appetite when Alfred put lasagne in front of him. It must have been a special occasion since Alfred had even baked them a cake for afterwards. Jason only realised when he saw Alfred set himself down in the last seat at the grand oak table that he was probably happy he had the whole family under one roof. More, that Bruce had decided to join them tonight instead of holing himself up on one case or another in the cave. 

Sure, it wasn't the most amiable of dinners, it was their family after all, but it was kind of nice. Especially since he wasn't the one causing all the drama tonight. 

Damian was still upset, which he had a right to be, and regardless if Dick or Tim were trying to make him feel better Jason knew what it was like for nothing to penetrate that shell of anger. They could bribe him, be nice to him and even offer to let Damian help all he could to solve this mystery but it didn't change the fact that Titus was dead, and there was nothing he could do to ever not see his body lying like that in the halls he thought were safe. 

Dinner ended with half of the family retreating to the cave to suit up, while the rest, namely Jason and Tim, helped Alfred with clean up. 

"Shouldn't you be putting your cape on too?" Jason asked as he handed Tim another plate to dry.

"I will. After. Bruce wanted me to make sure you came down too, but you seem better and he mentioned you liked helping Alfred so..."

Jason grunted, turning back to the soapy tub in front of him. He didn't know what he was more upset about, that Bruce could still predict him after all these years, or that he was going to be spending another evening in the cave. He didn't get his afternoon nap after all, he would have thought that time alone would be enough to warrant at least some rest. 

For once, when Jason got down to the cave, it wasn't just Bruce that wasn't donning the cowl. There, in the seat next to him, was Damian, the kid still in his pyjama's from this morning sifting through hours of surveillance footage of the manor. For the first time in ages it looked like Batman and Robin weren't going to be patrolling the streets. How would Gotham survive?

"Nightwing's already on fifth. He wants you to meet up for a drug bust," Bruce informed as Tim and Jason came closer.

"That's generous," Jason said,knowing for a fact that Bruce had been talking to Tim "But I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline. See, there's this big Bat guy who has this rule about being sick and patrolling."

"Ha, ha," Bruce drawled, getting up regardless to let Jason take his seat. He went off to help Tim suit up.

Since there was nothing really for Jason to do here, he rewound the tapes, batting Damian off when the kid started putting up a fuss, and tried to see if he could make any sense of what was in front of them.

There was nothing really to look at. The halls of Wayne Manor were almost always quiet, which was convenient when a murder happened since it was easier to spot them.

The first thing Jason did was check out everyone's alibi's. He was sure Bruce and Damian had already done it, but it never hurt to check for himself. TIm's was easy to check out. The kid was like a zombie tripping over his own feet to his room. Jason swore Tim didn't even make it to the bed last night, what with the way his foot stuck out of his door for three hours. The only time Tim moved was when the first scream came from Damian, he was up like a shot after that, almost making it to the crime scene before Bruce intercepted and sent him into the nearest room.

Damian was next. His story checked out, the kid toddling out of his room at five, and Jason bit back a laugh at the little sleepy stumble Damian made into Titus, knowing that he would get punched, or worse if he gave in. There was a little chase too, Titus shuffling Alfred along before Damian intercepted, picking the cat up to carry him the rest of the way to the kitchen. If Jason saved that little video for later that was his own business. 

Cass' story linked in with Damian's, just like she said, which eventually just left Dick and Bruce. 

The library had a camera in, one without any sound unfortunately. Worse, Bruce, since he knew where the camera was, knew where to sit, and where to angle himself so his words wouldn't be caught on camera. Sometimes, Jason wished Bruce wasn't as smart as he was. Especially since, from the worried look on Dick's face, Jason could guess they were talking about him. 

They were in there the amount of time Dick said they had been. He even watched as himself zombied in at the allotted time, swaying like the dead incarnate as he fell on Bruce. He ignored the snicker from Damian when Jason damn well curled up like a cat against Bruce. He was ill and sleepwalking, he's allowed to be a little needy when he wasn't in his right mind. 

When everything there checked out, Jason rewound the tape once more and focused on Titus. "You know," Jason said, breaking the silence, "I always wanted a dog when I lived here. It was kind of lonely, you know with Bruce barely around. Only thing was the old man kept saying no." Everything from Jason wasn't responsible enough to Alfred wouldn't allow pets in the manor- despite it being Bruce's house to begin with- had come out of Bruce's mouth in the six month period Jason had begged for a dog. "Said no to Dick too. Tim as well probably."

Damian tutted next to him, "Of course he would. You didn't even keep yourself alive, how could he think to trust you with an animal."

Jason ignored the words that wanted to come out. Damian was upset, he reminded himself. He didn't want to make things worse, not when he was staying another night at the manor. "Whatever," Jason settled on, watching as Titus veered off from Damian just as they got to the kitchen. "Strange."

"What?" Damian asked, immediately perking to attention. Jason rewound the tape to where Damian and Titus separated again. "What Todd?"

"See here," He pointed out, pausing the tape and playing it on a loop. "Strange isn't is?"

Damian looked, his eyes taking a while before he spotted it too. On screen, there wasn't a noticeable change in Titus when played regularly. However, Jason had went through a faze where he was obsessed with dogs. He had been interested in everything about them not just because he wanted one himself. Back in his old apartment with his mom, there had been a neighbour and a few other people on the streets with dogs. These weren't the nice ones Jason saw in parks, with their owners throwing a ball and the dog sitting when told. These dogs were territorial, grown to be vicious and bite when provoked. If Jason had a hope of surviving, he had to learn what behaviours to watch out for. It was surprising, when he became Robin, how much of that knowledge was transferable when it came to sneaking around. Still didn't mean he got a dog.

"Bruce," Jason called over, showing him the footage. For a moment, before Titus trotted off, his tail stopped, his ears perking up and Jason would have bet anything that his nose was twitching if he had been facing the camera. "Something got his attention."

Jason played the rest of the tape, watching Titus closely. He didn't look like he was worried, his tail wagging as he walked like he was being lead up the stairs. He stopped when he got to the room outside where Jason was sleeping, padding in to lick Jason's sleeping face before seeming to be called out again. 

Bruce leant over him, taking over the controls as he rewound and switched camera's, looking at every angle he could to try and find what was keeping Titus' attention. Jason wasn't surprised when he was wheeled into Damian, Bruce needing full access to the console now they had a lead. 

Damian didn't even snap at the contact, hopping out of his chair to climb onto Jason's. "Father, Titus wouldn't have followed anyone he doesn't know." 

Bruce grunted his acknowledgement. 

"You train him?" Jason asked.

"Of course," Damian scoffed. "He has heightened senses, it was only natural that I use these to my full advantage. Titus was to obey only myself and father."

"Was?"

Damian scowled. "Grayson may have wormed his way into Titus' favour."

"Doesn't explain why he's nice to me," Jason grinned. "Admit it kid, you had him protect the whole family, not just you."

Damian tutted, but stayed silent. 

They watched the screens for a while longer, Bruce fixating on the hallway where Titus was found. It was the moment after Titus made to enter the hallway again where the cameras cut out. Jason would have thought the camera's had some kind of memory, a thing that kept recording even if the feed was cut off from the cave, but when he asked, Bruce said that too was cut off. It was like someone had just infiltrated their whole system and shut it down for two minutes. 

"I don't understand why it was the dog," Jason said.

"Titus," Damian corrected. 

"I know his name kid. But think about it, this guy, whoever it was, had the opportunity to off us. Or, me at least, yet it went for Titus. It just, if it was feeding, fair enough, but that display was too brutal. Nothing was missing, was it?"

Bruce shook his head, "Everything was still there."

"A message then?" Jason hypothesised. "You piss anyone off recently?"

Bruce shook his head again. "No one that would do this." 

"It could still be a message," Damian said. "It wouldn't be the first time someone has went after us through our reputation alone." 

Kidnappers, black mailers, they had seen it all through the years. It wasn't just Batman and Robin that were targets in Gotham, just having the Wayne name often had people going after them, hoping for some kind of revenge or reward out of it. Still, if that were the case they would go after one of the actual people in the house, not the dog. 

He thought back to all the break ins he knew about where pets were involved. Sometimes pets got hurt, territorial as they were they were always capable of attacking or blowing the whole job if they made too much noise. Usually, in those cases, the perp. would use a quick method to get rid of the problem. A bullet or a swift whack. The pet was never the priority, always a second thought. In this case, it looked the opposite. But no one had a grudge against a dog, it was just a dog.

"My head hurts," Jason groaned. He was too tired for this. 

Bruce and Damian weren't. They spent the whole night, when they weren't coordinating teams in the field, looking over the footage, trying to figure out why Titus had been targeted and by who. Jason, having grown bored and banned from sleep until Bruce said so was forced to look at other means of entertaining himself. 

Better as he was, the training mats were looking pretty good. However, the moment Jason put one little toe on them a warning, "Jason," rang in the cave, Bruce not even turning around to tell him any physical idea like that was off limits.

The med bay was just boring, and since Jason got told off for going near the cars as well, he ended up lying on the cave floor bat staring. He'd named fifteen when something jumped on his chest. He let out a rather unmanly scream, memories from his dream seizing him again. But it wasn't Dick. Something Jason knew because Damian was laughing his ass off at the computer as Alfred the cat curled up purring on Jason's chest. 

"You've got too many animals," Jason hissed.

"Whatever Todd."

Alfred the cat was a testy little thing. He wanted Jason to stroke him, but when he did he dug his little claws in Jason's chest. When he didn't, he nudged and batted Jason's face until he did. Jason couldn't win. He couldn't even chuck the thing off because Damian warned him off it with a few scathing sentences.

After a while of painful claws in his chest Alfred settled and dozed, something Jason wished he could do as well. Unfortunately for him, Jason didn't know just how warm cats were, you know, since he never had one thanks to Bruce. Warm, fluffy Alfred without his claws was a soothing little thing. With every breath Jason felt himself drifting.

It seemed the inhabitants of the manor really didn't want to let Jason nap. It felt like seconds before Alfred's claws were back in his chest, the nails actually piercing skin as a horrid yowl filled the air. Alfred didn't stop even when Jason got the damn thing off him. He circled around Jason, hissing outwards and occasionally clawing the air until he just stopped and sat like nothing was wrong.

"What the hell was that about?" Jason asked him. "You see a shadow?"

Alfred wasn't listening, cats never did, so Jason wasn't too surprised when Alfred started washing himself.

"Damian, your cat's defective."

When he looked back, both Bruce and Damian were watching him, mirrored scowls on their faces. Damian hopped up to grab Alfred, holding him up eye level before glaring at Jason as he retreated back to Bruce. 

"What?" He asked when the scowls didn't lessen. "I didn't do anything."

"Why don't you go to bed Jay?" Bruce more or less ordered rather than asked.

Jason bit his lip, turning his back and doing what he was told. It wouldn't do to get into an argument he reminded himself. It didn't mean he took the hint any less harshly. He could understand the hidden meaning, Bruce telling him not so subtly Jason was being a hindrance in his concentration. 

The sheets had been replaced when he got to his room. Now that he was well, Jason had mixed feelings about staying here. It had too many memories. It was like a shrine to his fifteen year old self. Hell, when he went looking he could still find his porn magazines hidden beneath his bed. There was a reason he slept in the other rooms when he came here. He wasn't this kid any more. He wasn't the image Bruce had kept of him all these years, and Jason wasn't petty enough to ruin that image by destroying what Bruce had kept of his room. 

Still, it was the only room on this floor with an en suite.

It just dawned on him when he went rooting for some boxers that all the clothes in his drawers were his size. Thing was, he remembered these outfits from when he was fifteen. Alfred must have upgraded whatever was in here to his size. It was kind of creepy. Especially since he hadn't had a fitting at the manor since his resurrection. He decided not to dwell on it, grabbing the first shorts he saw and heading to the shower.

As usual it only took a few minutes before Jason went from angry to boneless under the hot spray. He wondered if this was how good Alfred the cat felt when he got a scratch, if it was, Jason thought, ducking his head under again, it was pretty damn good.

Now, while he had told Dick off for his long showers before, when given the opportunity himself, Jason wasn't exactly in and out himself. There was just something about being warm and the water bouncing off his skin that soothed any problems he had, and since he was staying at the manor, those problems had only continued to mount. Still, he had to admit, deep down, that there was a part of him that had sat at dinner tonight and enjoyed looking around to see other people there. He liked his lifestyle, he really did, but there were times when he ached so badly for someone to sit with him, just be in the same room so he wasn't alone. When he had been a kid it had been Alfred, that man always knowing, somehow, when Jason needed the company. Back from the dead and the not so golden child any more, there weren't many people he could just be around without them asking too many uncomfortable questions. 

It must have been ten minutes before those ideas flew out of his head, all because one of the idiots not on patrol knocked on his door. There were three short raps, no questions following or, 'it's me,' just silence. He had the urge to snap at them, tell them to piss off until he was done and then take an extra five minutes just to keep whoever was on the other side waiting. However, some self preservation instinct inside him told him not to, for him to wait and see if the other person would crack first.

They did, three short raps coming again, but this time on the wall. Again, no one spoke, but Jason did hop out of the shower. He kept the water running as he towelled his hair, keeping all noise of his location as near to the stream of water as possible. Someone had been in the manor after all, who was to say they weren't on the other side. 

_Knock, knock, knock._

It came from the wall, the one near the shower and right in Jason's line of sight. He moved, edging closer to the towel rack, nearly jumping out of his skin when the knocks came from there too. Whoever it was knew where he was moving. They weren't in one place or there was more than one of them as the knocking came from the ceiling. Jason dove towards the medicine cabinet, sifting through new products Alfred had bought him until he came to the back panel. He hoped to God they had really left things the way Jason had left them as he picked the small square near the bottom away. When he first moved in, and was still cautious of Bruce, he always kept a batarang in there, one he'd stolen from the cave and was sure Bruce hadn't known about. When he got older it was always there as a 'just in case' scenario. But, of course, Bruce or Alfred had decided to remove it in the last few years since when Jason actually needed it the batarang was gone. 

He swore, improvisation taking over as he knocked off the bar of the towel rack. He thanked God Bruce was filthy rich as the bar weighed heavy in his hands. Hefting it to a good height, he edged closer to the door. All he needed was to get one good swing in and he could run to the cave. Bruce would be a good distraction as Jason looked for weapons or-

"Jay?" 

"Dick?" 

"Jay? You okay?" That was definitely Dick.

"Yeah," He said, still keeping the bar high, "You?"

"As fine as anyone can be today." He didn't sound worried, or strained. As far as Jason could tell there were no double meanings in his words either. Just plain old Dick. Maybe whoever was messing with him ran when Dick came near. They certainly hadn't stuck around to see the reactions to Titus. 

"You alone?" Jason couldn't help but check anyway."

"Of course."

He wasn't stupid enough to drop the bar, but he did unlock the door, opening it a little to find Dick, alone, on the other side, peering those big puppy dog eyes of his around until they landed on Jason. "There you are," He smiled. 

Jason let Dick come in, taking one quick look into his room before closing and locking the door again. Dick was flicking his fingers through the water, the shower still running warm because Bruce had the best system money could buy. "You see anyone on your way up?"

Dick flicked his fingers one last time, his eyes immediately latching onto the lowered bar, "No. Why?"

Jason thought about telling him about the knocks. It would have been the right thing to do, but, now that he thought about it, there was no way someone could knock on the tiled wall of his shower. The vent, sure, since the room next to his could travel sound, but the tiles, there was no way. From that direction, the only thing next to it were the bricks and the outside. There was no other room that way. He supposed it could have just been a trick of the mind. He sure had been imagining some crazy things these days, and it wouldn't be the first time he'd been tricked while he was awake. He distinctly remembered one winter when he was thirteen where he freaked the hell out of Bruce. His fever had been high and he'd been convinced he could see someone behind Bruce, just standing in the shadows. He'd been so insistent Bruce had camped out with him all day and night with the lights on until Jason could no longer see it. This could have been just that.

So he just said, "Nothing," and changed the subject. "What are you doing back so early? Thought you had an important drugs bust with Tim."

Dick shrugged, "Figured there was something more important."

"What? You helping Bruce too?"

At the mention of Bruce, Jason swore he saw Dick still, his eyes roving around lightning fast before relaxing and focusing back on Jason. "No silly, I meant you." He came closer, fingers trailing down the bar until they met Jason's, slowly easing the metal out until Dick could toss it to the floor. "You look scared Jay. What's wrong?"

"Someone just killed our dog and we have no idea who. I think I have a right to be scared." Not that he was. Jumpy, maybe, but scared was a bit of a stretch.

Dick linked their fingers together, tugging his hand up until he could hold it close to his chest. Jason felt his breath catch as Dick spread his fingers out. This was... this was so close to those dreams he'd been having that it was hard to think clearly. It was hard to swallow, especially when Dick wouldn't look away from him. He wondered how Kori even kept herself away. God, just a look and Jason was almost melting.

"You know I'd never let anything happen to you Jay." 

"Dick," He breathed.

The fingers on his tightened slightly, spreading the top two almost painfully away. "No matter what you do, I won't let anything hurt you. It will never be you." He kissed the pads of Jason's fingers, feather light, almost platonic had his eyes not promised something entirely different. 

He let go, Jason taking his hand back like he'd just been burned and seeming to bring Dick with him. "Dick?" This was in no way platonic. Dick's entire being seemed to exude want, and as much as Jason wanted to give in a bigger, louder, part of him wondered where this was all coming from. Was it the shock of Titus making Dick think differently today? Had he been drugged, which Jason was actually more in favour of. Or was this just some big joke? 

Jason tried to edge back, his thighs hitting the sink. Dick followed every step, keeping close and begging Jason to turn him away, to really tell him no. He wanted to, some part of him told him he had to. But then Dick said, "You're so precious to me," like he really was the greatest thing to walk this earth and Jason just lost the will to care.

Jason didn't waste time with chaste. He'd been wanting to kiss Dick since his cock first learned how to get hard. With one hand keeping Dick in place he enacted every fantasy he had about kissing Dick. Fast, slow, hard, soft, tongue, he did it all until Dick was pushing him back into the sink, his eyes wild as he hitched a leg and ground himself into Jason's hip. "You always taste so good," Dick huffed and, well, Jason hadn't the mind to examine that right now. Especially since Dick was asking him, "How do you want it? How do you want me Jay?"

He groaned, so many images from his late night musings coming to mind. The most prominent one however, was one he'd had while he was here, in this bathroom. He didn't really want to move, Dick an amazing sight in front of him, so he turned instead until he could face the mirror. Two furrowed brows met his own, the question clear on Dick's face. Jason bent until his arms could brace themselves on the sink. He could still see Dick through the mirror, most of him visible now Jason's bulk wasn't in the way. Like this, it was hard not to imagine he was a kid again, and when Dick reached for the elastic on his boxers Jason shook him off with a blush on his cheeks. "Like this. Just, get off." It was awkward saying it out loud, and considering his childhood he shouldn't be nervous about sex. Yet here he was, stuttering around his words. He would have been more embarrassed but it kind of added to the effect of his fantasy.

Dick hesitated a moment before understanding came into his eyes. Jason prepared himself for correcting Dick again, thinking in his mind the specifics he needed to say and hoping to God he wouldn't sound like a virgin again. Yet, he didn't have to. Dick had understood and stood behind him, tossing his shirt off and keeping those predatory eyes on Jason as he grabbed his hips.

The first brush against his ass had Jason shivering, Dick starting off gently as he thrust and rubbed himself against Jason. He spread his legs wider, his boxers pulling up and curving more to the insides of his thighs. The friction was tame, but Jason had wanted it to be. It wasn't about the feeling of Dick that got him off when he was like this, it was the look. The look of Dick with his eyes trained on Jason, a smile tugging on his cheeks like he couldn't believe this was happening either. It was the way his head was tossed back slightly, his neck long and golden, just begging for Jason to bite it. His arms, both of them tense with hands out of sight because they were holding onto Jason, keeping him in place for where Dick wanted him to be. It was Dick's chest, smooth and unmarked, lifting with every harsh pant and thrust he made onto Jason. 

The image alone was everything Jason had wanted to see. Enough for him to writhe back, spread further until Dick's clothed cock managed to pull the fabric tight over his hole. Jason groaned as Dick did it again, one of Dick's hands going to the elastic again to pull it tight so every move had some friction grazing over him. Jason unlatched one of his arms from the sink, digging it into his boxers until he found his cock. He kept looking at Dick in the mirror, the way he grew more excited, that smile sharper the closer he got. 

Jason moaned, high pitched and needy, his heart thumping loudly in his ears as he tugged himself once, twice and came. The thumping still came, Jason dazedly thinking that sounded much louder than his heart as Dick pulled away. Without Dick there, Jason had no support, his legs falling from under him, his jaw smashing uncomfortably off the side of the sink as he fell back. The thumping seemed to fade, Jason thinking he'd calmed down enough not to hear himself as he looked for Dick. 

He couldn't find him. Dick wasn't there. 

Until he was, his hair damp like he'd been in the shower, his stupid superman pyjama's that were way too small for him on his scar covered skin and mouthing something Jason couldn't quite understand. 

"Bruce!" finally breeched his ears, Dick screeching like a banshee. "You're gonna be okay Jay, you hear me? Jay?" He yelled for Bruce until Alfred came, the man taking one look before actually running out of the room.

Time was rather a funny concept. He could have sworn he only blinked before Bruce was in front of him, careful hands lifting his head as Bruce shone a light in his eyes. He wanted to tell them he was fine, that he was just tired and he'd slipped, but his body wasn't cooperating. All it did was lay there, feeling like his life was being drained out of him.

Then it wasn't. He could move, and the first thing he did was push Bruce away. 

He scuttled back, keeping his legs close. The last thing he needed was Bruce to see he'd cum in his pants, if he hadn't already. Yet, when he moved and certainly when he sat there fending off his old man, he couldn't feel any uncomfortably stickiness. He couldn't feel anything. His boxers were bone dry. If it wasn't for his jaw hurting he would think he'd- crap. 

He wanted to cry.

None of that happened. Not a single part. He knew from just how Dick sat there that none of it happened. Like he'd said before, he couldn't be in two places at once. Yet- urgh, why? Why was his mind fixating on Dick? This was cruel, it was unfair, and before he knew it he really was crying. Big, heaving sobs because he felt tired again. He just wanted to sleep. He'd been feeling better and-

"It's okay Jay," Bruce soothed, chancing coming closer again. "You're okay." Jason kicked out, Bruce catching his foot and using it to pull Jason closer, tugging him into a rare hug he seemed to be getting a lot of lately. "You're going to be fine."


	4. Chapter 4

Bruce didn't let him sleep. Jason could see he was too scared to, and, honestly, so was Jason. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and not wake up. Bruce was so worried he didn't let Jason out of his sight.

He had Jason busy, active so he wouldn't slip away. The cave was the easiest place to keep Jason. Inventory was always needed, and since his Robin brain knew mistakes were not tolerated and could destroy lives, he kept himself aware of everything he did.

But inventory couldn't be done forever, and pretty soon Bruce had to look for other means of keeping Jason awake, and boy was he inventive. Training was the go to for most things, but since Jason was lethargic his own movements were slow and clumsy and left him even closer to the ground than Bruce would have liked.

Helping Alfred was next, and Jason was sure Bruce had never done housework in his life as the two of them tackled Jason's room. He had to admit this was a better idea than the last. From the moment they stepped in Jason was on high alert. He was very particular about his living space, and loathe as he was to admit it this was where he was staying for the time being so Jason was going to make it as comfortable as possible. 

Bruce helped him strip the sheets, well, he held them while Jason showed him what to do. The bed made, Jason turned to the rest of the room. Bruce promised he could clean it out so that was what he was going to do. Starting, with his posters.

He stripped down the ones he'd grown out of, knowing for a fact if he looked back he would see Bruce making that pained, but not trying to show it, face. Bruce had promised however, so took them when Jason handed them over and folded them neatly, probably to put them up in another shrine to the kid Jason used to be. 

He kept the circus posters, the ones Dick had stolen for him when he took him to a show on his fourteenth birthday. There was something beautiful about the faded pastels and exotic shows that still made his blood tingle to look at them.

He grabbed his magazines next, throwing them to Bruce just for the satisfaction of seeing that furrowed brow as he wondered how Jason had hidden them from him all these years. Jason dug out a few more things under his bed, remembering the shame he felt at keeping them. There was a shoebox filled with the scant photos he had of his parents. He hadn't want Bruce to know about it when he was here, somehow feeling like he was being ungrateful. He knew better now, and sifted through the baby photos where his dad was still there and step mom still lucid.

He spent a good hour on them, sorting them into two piles before shoving the box and one set back under his bed. The rest, he handed over to Bruce. "For the photo album," Jason said. They all had one, tucked away in a drawer of Bruce's desk. Dick's was full to the brim with photos of before and after he came to live with Bruce. Baby photos, circus folk, his first christmas with his parents and with Bruce. Tim's was just as bad, the photgraphy nerd he was had two books, one with things he wanted Bruce to have and the rest for his own personal collection. Cass's wasn't as extreme as Dick and Tim's but it was still pretty full. Between Bruce, Steph and Tim they had made up for the lack of memories Cass had by filling an album of adventured. Really, the only one he could say had just as little in their book as himself was Damian. 

With the photos done, there wasn't really much else for Jason to do. His books could stay where they were, Jason still satisfied with the order they were in. He didn't keep any CD's or DVD's in here, figuring when he was younger that if he left them where Bruce could find them he would be more inclined to watch them together with Jason. He supposed to someone like Tim who had stuff piled up like mountains, Jason's room wouldn't look all that lived in, but Jason had always been the kind of guy to travel light. If he didn't have much there wasn't much for him to lose.

It was well into the afternoon when Bruce herded Jason into another room to clean. By now, he hadn't slept for well over a day, was hungry, and just a little tetchy.

Alfred brought them up sandwiches when Bruce's phone chimed. The bat was needed. Yet Bruce didn't make to get up. Instead, he hunkered down next to Jason and tried to figure out how the dusting process worked.

His phone chimed again just as Bruce tried to think of more things they could do. He didn't ignore it this time, checking it once before actually rolling his eyes. Jason had only seen him make that face a handful of times when referring to bat business. Either, the Condemant King had escaped or the JL were calling because Bruce had missed a meeting. 

Jason was going to bet the latter. Especially when Bruce told him to follow, the two of them heading to the cave.

Damian was still at the console, Dick and Tim beside him trying to figure out the Titus mystery. Bruce checked in with them quickly, telling them to keep him posted as he headed to the batsuit. 

Jason followed like the dutiful sidekick he used to be, leaning heavily against the glass as Bruce got his boots on.

"Here," Bruce tossed a domino at him. "They already know your identity but it's better safe than sorry."

"I'm coming with you?"

Bruce had already made his way over to the teleporter. The one that was offline and only accessed by those with bat clearance. So, not Jason.

Yet, when he stepped on it recognised him as Red Hood, and didn't zap him somewhere half way across the world. 

Watchtower was blinding. For someone who spent his life in gloomy Gotham or the cave, he was used to dim lights or complete darkness, not this hellish white that lit up every nook and cranny alive. Jason didn't think he'd ever seen himself so clearly.

It had changed a lot from the old base, which was obvious since the last one had been a mountain not a satellite. The furniture was more modern, white too like the walls and lights. A massive computer bank spanned one wall, scenes of cities or the artic switching out to be replaced with the next and the next. It was like Bruce's paranoid system was one day given the green light and produced this monstrous baby as a way to cope.

Creepy.

JL members were already inside, Superman giving Bruce the side eye as the two of them walked over to the massive table in the middle. Jason gave Supes a little grin, knowing by far Jason wasn't Superman's favourite out of Bruce's kids. He didn't care, there was only one person in this room after all that he could actually be intimidated by, and she, the magestic woman that she was had already claimed her seat at the head.

Jason actually felt his throat go dry as Bruce gave up his seat for Jason. He'd never made it a secret he had a bit of a thing for Wonder Woman. Bruce used to tease him endlessly when he'd been Robin about it, telling Jason when he came back from a JL meeting that Wonder Woman had been there, that she'd said or done something that made the Batman, not Bruce, laugh. She'd been amazing, was amazing. It was too bad the first time they met he'd been dead. 

He felt Bruce's hand tighten on his shoulder, amusement thrumming through him as Jason sat straighter than he would have done ordinarily. He would have told Bruce to piss off, but Jason was in the presence of a Princess, and unlike half of his family, Jason had manners.

The other members took their seats. Superman still side eyeing Bruce, as he kept standing, a rather petty, "Now we're all gathered, we can start."

"Actually," Batman said. "I can't stay. I just came to warn you all to keep an eye for a suspected meta."

"But Batman-"

"It's already attacked my home. It's fast and I suspect can move through walls. It also, can disable electronics," Bruce sent a cowled stare to Wally.

The speedster was already there to deny it had anything to do with him. "As far as I know any other speedsters, good or bad, are in places they can't cause havoc. I can check, but I don't think it's my people behind this."

"Then keep an eye out. I want their name," Bruce hissed before grabbing the back of Jason's chair and wheeling him to the monitor banks.

It lookee like telling the JL about their problem wasn't the only reason they were here as Bruce immediately pulled up the camera footage from outside Wayne Manor. He switched angles fifty times, rewindig and fast forwarding until he grunted once, hefted Jason up and herded him back to the teleporters.

"That was a quick visit."

"Like it should be," Bruce huffed as they got back to the cave. 

 "You think it's a meta then?" Jason asked.

Bruce shrugged his cape off, "From the looks of it there is no other explanation. Hopefully whatever attacked us is done, but I would still like to know their name." So he could exact justice remained unsaid.

Bruce didn't go out that night again. He sent the others on their way, including Damian even if the kid threw one of the best tantrums Jason had ever seen. Bruce brought Jason to his room, not Jason's, his, which was almost worse than Jason's for memories. 

The bright side was, Jason was allowed to sleep. The down side, Bruce was bunking with him. He wanted to be difficult and outlast Bruce, but as soon as he got permission to sleep he was out before his head hit the pillow.

Darkness was a welcome. Jason clung onto it for dear life, so when the bed dipped on his left, the side Bruce most definitely was not because Jason could still feel him to his right, he did nothing. He figured it was Damian, the brat probably checking in before he went to sleep, found Jason and thought to try and worm his way between Jason and his father. Even if the action was a bit childish.

But the figure didn't climb over Jason, it settled next to him, curling up under Jason's chin very familiarly. He knew that soft hair, that chin resting on Jason's chest.

When he looked down, Dick was staring right back up at him. 

"I'm hurt," Dick said.

"What?" Jason sat up a bit, looking over Dick's smooth skin for any sign of injury. He couldn't find any, and when he met Dick's eyes again it was clear physical injury wasn't what he meant. 

He was staring, more like burning a hole, into Bruce. "You didn't invite me."

"What?" Jason asked again.

Dick nodded over to Bruce. "I wouldn't have said no to a threesome."

"A-" He couldn't finish that thought. "Ew. Ew no. Have you been drinking? Why would you-? It's Bruce!" Not that Bruce wasn't handsome, but thankfully his adolescent libido had taken one look at Bruce and decided he was much too ingrained as father in Jason's mind to have any sexual connotations directed at him.

Dick perked up, his brows furrowed as he squinted at Bruce. "But-" He took another look at Jason, Bruce, Jason, and laughed. "Oh. Ooh, this is interesting." He laughed again, a cruel look directing itself to Jason. "And there was me thinking I'd finally broke you into old habits."

"You really have been drinking," Jason huffed. Dick was making no sense. "Or hit your head, what exactly were you doing tonight?"

"Well I was going to do you but..."

"Jason?" 

A rough hand grabbed his shoulder, he jumped, whirling to find Bruce peeling one beady eye open. When he looked back, Dick was gone. 

"Jay?"

"I'm fine."

He slept uninterrupted the rest of the night, waking slightly rested and feeling better. He didn't get his hopes up this time however as he went for a shower. This was what had happened last time and look where he was now. 

Bruce was still hovering, seeming to have the same thoughts as Jason. They went down to breakfast together, Alfred shocked at Bruce being up early for once. Damian was already seated, informing them that the other three were still in bed. 

"Perhaps, while you are well rested we could train together," alone, Damian hinted.

Bruce didn't get the signal right, "Sure. Jason can show you how to perfect your five fourty. You managed it in three months, right Jay?"

"Yep." Three months of obsessing over footage of Dick doing it and practicing endlessly because he was not going to be one upped by the kid that got fired. "But, I'm still a bit tired, I think I might go pester Dick or Cass."

"Then-"

"No," Jason insisted, needing some space, "you train with Damian. One of the others should be burdened with me for a change."

"You're not a burden Jay," and the way he said it was so earnest Jason couldn't look at him. 

He needed to get out of here.

While he wanted to stay with Cass, his little sister was sadly missing when Jason went looking, there was a note at least, telling him she thought she had a lead on Titus' killer. Some hope then. Unfortunately that meant Jason was stuck with his second choice because there was no way he was bracing Tim's room again.

Dick hadn't even made it under the covers. Half his body was hanging off the bed, his head almost on the floor. Jason should have woke him gently, maybe lifted him to the bed first. He took a running start again and leapt onto the bed, bouncing like a kid on Christmas until Dick was writhing, falling head first onto the floor.

"You're in charge of me today Dickie."

One rumpled head popped up, a pout on his face. "You couldn't have woke me more gently?"

"Well, I would've blown you but I think Bruce is still stalking me so..." It was a joke he had always surprised himself he could make easily. He had thought, with the weird crush he had, that he would turn red, or saying it would make Dick realise he wasn't joking. But, either Dick was oblivious or Jason just had that kind of tone since the jokes just had Dick rolling his eyes.

Dick hopped back up, squirming himself comfortably under the covers and holding his arms out expectantly. Jason held back the urge to give in and let Dick hold him, instead turning a winning smile on his face and informing his older brother, "Any other day Dickie. Unlucky for you Bruce wants me awake until he can have me back in his sights."

A lot of groaning and a brief wrestling match which Jason was committing to memory later Dick was munching cereal in the kitchen trying to figure out something easy and time consuming to do. Eventually, Dick found something beneficial to both parties.

"Alfred won't mind," Dick drawled. 

Jason pouted at the sultry undertone, it reminded him too much of his dreams and how this very much wasn't one. "If Alfie finds out..."

"I'll take the full blame. Come on Jay, cook for me."

He sighed like it was the biggest chore in the world as he went searching for something he knew Dick would like. 

He remembered the first time Dick had found out Jason could cook. He'd been taking pointers from Alfred in case he ended up back on the streets. That day, at fourteen, he'd been making Bruce's favourite for Father's day. Dick had come back, a truce in the fighting, to celebrate with them. He was glum, having just visited his father's grave, but stopped at the sight at Jason in an apron.

Jason had expected ridicule, Dick to make fun of him for doing something girly. What he hadn't expected was Dick to laugh, fall back into a chair and say, "Thank God. Last time I tried making something Kori had to throw the whole tray away. You can cook right?"

Jason had nodded, and the two of them had a good morning swapping stories about past cooking attempts until it was time to bring Bruce his breakfast.

Now, they didn't talk about cooking, but Dick did his best to fill the silence between them. It started off alright, the two of them talking cases. However, as the time went on and Dick grew more comfortable things went from easy to uncomfortable.

"So, do you remember what happened before you fell?" Dick must have been itching to ask that. 

The easy answer to that was yes. He remembered the weird knocking, Dick kissing him, dry humping him against the sink, but none of that had been real. "No," he said instead. "Why? It must have been something bad if you broke my door down," the second one in under two weeks. Honestly, for guys that could pick locks they sure were eager to break doors down. 

Dick hesitated, his ears going a slight shade of red. "Well, I didn't mean to listen before you shout at me you were kind of loud and it was hard not to hear you."

"Hear me?" Oh crap.

Dick rubbed his neck uncomfortably, "Yeah. At first, I thought you were, you know, taking care of business-"

"Masturbating," Jason corrected, knowing his own face was red too but couldn't help the opportunity to make Dick even more uncomfortable.

"Yeah, that. But then you called for me and when I checked, you know, just to make sure you didn't mistakenly call my name, you didn't respond. And then I asked again, and again, and then the moaning got worse and I got worried and you weren't answering me and then, Jay you were lying there. I just-" he cut off, breathing heavily. When he calmed down enough to talk again he looked Jason straight in the eye and said, "You are so precious to me Jason. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

He felt his blood run cold. This, he was in a dream. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. Dick wouldn't say that to him, he wouldn't.

He was dimly aware of Dick in front of him, his image blurred beyond recognition as Jason tried to catch his breath. Why was this happening? Why him? Tim was younger, probably not healthier with the way he lived but it was about his time to take the brunt for something not Jason. He'd been through enough.

"Deep breath in," he heard, and followed instructions for lack of anything else to do. It didn't seem to be working. Neither did the five deep breaths after that. But after a minute, two, Jason could feel the world focus itself around him, his lungs finally relaxing despite stinging. "Jay?"

"Am I awake?"

"Yeah. 'Course you are." Dick's face came into focus again, still the same hair and clothes as before. "Your hand's a bit burnt. We should take care of it."

Jason could feel it. He saw the blister but so many other things had felt real in his hallucinations too. "Bruce. Where is he?" He was the only thing that Jason knew was real. "I need him."

"He's in the cave Jay."

"I need-" he bolted. He didn't trust Dick. He didn't trust himself around Dick. If he did something stupid and this wasn't a dream he didn't want to live with Dick looking at him differently. He was already on the odds with his family, he couldn't add more fuel to their fire. 

Dick was hot on his heels as Jason ran to Bruce's study. He didn't try and stop Jason, more like he followed in case Jason fell or did himself another grievous injury.

Bruce was letting Damian whack him with a staff when Jason slipped down the last stairs into the cave. Bruce disarmed Damian just as Jason touched the bottom, hurrying over to catch him as Jason checked Bruce was there. That he was real. 

"What happened?" Bruce asked over Jason's shoulder.

"I don't know," Dick said, "we were cooking and then he just had a panic attack and ran for the cave."

"Dick," Bruce snapped, the tone telling Dick to be more specific.

"We were talking. I was asking him about him falling and then I said how I didn't want anything to happen to him again and he panicked."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," echoed through the cave. 

Jason wanted to snap at them, to tell them he could dsmn well hear, but he needed to make sure this was real. Jason clung to Bruce until he could be sure he was fine. 

If Jason thought before Bruce had been bad he was wrong. Jason couldn't even go to the bathroom on his own now, Bruce following him in giving him some privacy but nothing like a door.

When it came to sleeping arrangements someone had spilled the beans that Jason was sleeping in the big bed and when midnight two o clock came Jason woke in the middle of the night to find himself in one big Wayne sandwich. Bruce was on his right, Damian doing his best to squeeze between them but ending up more sprawled on Bruce than wedged between them. Dick was on Bruce's other side, cuddled in like he was nine years old again. He thought he could feel Tim near the bottom which left Cass on Jason's left.

The only thing was when he did a head count again he swore he miscounted. Yet, when Jason looked closer in the darkness he could see the added head perched above Tim.

A pearly white smile directed itself at Jason, glowing blue eyes pinning him in place. It was Dick.

"I think introductions are in order Jay."


	5. Chapter 5

"Am I dreaming?"

Dick didn't answer, one of his hands turning his face different directions. "Now, I know who this little bastard is. Poor little Tim Tim, his daddy up to no good and leaving him all alone. Well, as far as he knew anyway." There was a story there, one either his mind had made up or... Dick turned to the others. "Cassandra Cain of course. I remember her all too well. And him, well, I only have to look in a mirror to know who he is. But these two, Jason, these two I must meet."

His glowing eyes were pinned on Damian more than Bruce. Jason didn't know why, but he had the urge to sit himself in front of Damian. Dick tired of batting Tim's face around when Jason didn't reply, hefting himself off and crawling until he was in Jason's lap.

Thick arms wrapped around Jason's neck, Dick cocking his head. "You're not a priest."

It was the first mirth Jason had felt since this bizarre dream started.  "A priest?" He laughed, his sides hurting the longer the image of him in a priests robe, white collar and all. Just thinking about himself giving godly advice had him spiralling another three minutes. Long enough for Jason see Dick go from annoyed to amused.

"I suppose it is funny," Dick agreed. "I always thought so. You were always so full of darkness after all."

His mirth left. "Gee, thanks."

"Oh, no. It's a compliment Jay," Dick corrected. "It's the whole reason we met after all. That delicious darkness inside you. The one that's practically oozing since you came back. I don't know how the others could ignore it." His eyes glowed brighter with every word, the pupils shrinking until the whole orb was nothing but a blue light. 

"What do you want?" Since the other dreams had seemed somewhat logical in that way too. Letting Jason act and interact like it was reality. 

"Hmm," Dick purred. "You." The glow lessened until the pupils were back and staring at Damian, "Now, you didn't answer my question."

Jason scoffed, "Like everyone in Gotham doesn't already know."

Dick blinked. "So that's Bruce. And that's Damian."

"Yep." His subconscious was being weirder tonight than usual.

"Huh." 

Dick stared at Bruce and Damian for a while. Longer than Jason was comfortable with. Dick's hands clenched in warning before Jason had a nose dragging itself across his cheek, lips searching for his own.

Jason reared back. "Wow. No. I've said this already. Not while Bruce is here."

"But Jay," Dick whined.

"No." He did not have an exhibitionist streak and wasn't about to develop one. His mind could play tricks like this when he was alone but as soon as he was with company it would have to damn well wait. 

"Really? No?" He reared back to look at Jason better. "You're not the priest Jay. You've given in. You have more to lose, are you actually going to say no right now?"

"More to- what are you talking about?"

"I'm hungry Jay, and I can smell you want me. Just give in."

He reared back again when Dick leant forward, enough to half fall on top of Damian. The kid squirmed, his hands sleepily trying to push Jason off him, but Dick kept coming forward. 

"Dick no."

"Hmm?" Jason heard, only not from the Dick in front of him. Jason watched as the Dick next to Bruce raised his head up, blinking slowly in the shadows. "Jay?"

Jason didn't answer, too freaked out and still fighting off the feet Damian had now employed to get him off. Whatever Dick saw had him yawning, sitting straighter and haphazardly climb over Bruce.

"You okay?" Dick whispered. 

Jason nodded, the Dick in front of him gone, leaving him with the real one squinting slightly at the space around Jason. 

"You feel sick? You look pale?"

Jason shook his head, "I'm fine."

Dick nudged his forehead against Jason's anyway, his skin slightly sticky from sweat he hadn't showered away from patrol. Jason couldn't help recognising the biting steel that wind left behind and the smog Gotham seemed to produce in abundance. Jason missed it, he missed the smell of the streets. He wanted to be back out there with the rest of them. Maybe not fighting side by side, but the sooner he had his wits about him the sooner he wouldn't be dreaming about two Dicks.

"You feel a bit hot. Want me to run a bath? Get Alfred? I know you don't like medicine, but it might help you get better faster."

"No," to all of it.

If he took a bath someone would have to watch over him. It was bad enough Bruce watched him on the toilet, considering Jason's last slip had happened in the bathroom, while he was taking a shower no less, Bruce would probably offer to wash Jason's hair for him. He didn't need that level of closeness right now. That was even if Dick got Bruce. It was late, and Bruce slept like the dead most nights. Dick was awake, he was the one offering the bath, he would be the one to watch over Jason. He definitely didn't want that to happen.

"Okay," Dick agreed, "Well, how about we switch beds. This one's got a bit crowded."

Again, alone with Dick and weird dreams plaguing him he couldn't trust himself. So he shook his head, shifted off Damian and turned hid back to Dick. His brother sighed, but got the message and shifted to his side of the bed.

Jason tried to go back to sleep. It was hard now he knew he was cuddling on all sides, which was why when he heard the first breathy moan he was sitting up and ready to attention.

Dick, the other Dick was back, and on Tim again. His eyes were still glowing, pinned on Jason, much like they had been the first time he woke to find Dick there. This time however, instead of curiously batting Tim around, he was rocking none too gently down on Tim's hips. 

The kid looked to still be asleep, but his subconscious seemed to be going wild since he bucked up against the friction. Dick seemed quite bored as he rode them, none of the passion he usually had in these encounters present.

Jason watched long enough for the shock to wear off. When it did, he dove forward, shoving Dick off, something inside of him he didn't want to name as jealousy telling him that Dick shouldn't be doing that. Not to Tim. He'd been replaced once, he couldn't go through that again.

Dick didn't seem that bothered by the shove, rolling as he landed on the quilt until he got his legs under him. Before Jason could even try warn him away Dick had pounced, landing on Jason's chest, his hands going around his throat this time instead of his arms.

"I told you Jay. I'm hungry."

"No one's hungry for sex."

Dick laughed, the tone mocking as the hands tightened. "I am. Now, either you satisfy me, or I go for little Timmy."

Jason hissed as the hands tightened. He tried to break out, usually he would be able to, but this Dick was way stronger than he looked, and didn't even flinch as Jason tried every trick he knew. 

"Not in front of people," Jason bit out.

"Fine," Dick agreed, rolling the two of them until Jason's back hit the floor, hard. The pain distracted him from Dick dragging him to the bathroom, the door slamming and leaving them with only the light from Dick's eyes. "Satisfied."

For a vision, Dick was vicious. There was something about him right now, the gentleness he'd had before gone and in its place teeth that drew blood and hands that gripped hard.

They didn't do much, Dick seeming impatient for anything too time consuming. He pinned Jason on the floor, much like Tim had been, restraining Jason's hands when he raised them up, and rode him until he came. 

His breath was hard to catch, somehow, even when Dick was rough Jason loved it. His body felt good, then drained like his energy was leaving him again. Dick didn't leave like he did the other times he was satisfied. Catching his own breath, the vision let go of Jason's hands. "I don't like being told no," he said. "And I don't like being mislead. When I come, you do as I say, or I swear ripping that dog of yours apart was only the beginning. I can, and will get nasty, and this time, you aren't exempt."

The threat felt real, enough that it kept Jason conscious longer than he wanted to be. But even Jason couldn't stay awake forever.

He woke with a headache. His back ached too, so much so that he could barely move without making noise. He was in the bathroom, the light going on above him as Damian hurried in.

He wasn't as panicked as Dick had been when he found Jason, but he did still screech for Bruce until the man came.

Bruce looked, for lack of a word, harried,when he came in. He was still in his night clothes, his hair everywhere like he had ran his hands through it multiple times. Not something a man who woke with his whole family on top of him would look like.

"Damian," Bruce snapped in that tone he used to demand someone explain themselves without actually saying the words.

"TT. Like you don't know how long I've been in here father. I know just about as much as you."

Bruce scowled, walking past Damian to help Jason sit. The move had Jason groaning, snatching his hand back and arching away from the arm around his back.

Bruce didn't wait for permission, he yanked Jason's shirt up and then off when the resistance from Jason's back wasn't what either of them were expecting. Jason was expecting the blood before he saw his shirt. He recognised that pull, the pain of dried blood being scratched from a wound. He tried to think back on what could have done it. He didn't recall hurting his back. Not out of his dreams anyway. He definitely didn't remember bruising his wrists either.

He heard Bruce's intake of breath, the action so unrestrained Jason couldn't help trying to twist his head. It must be bad, he thought.

Bruce picked him up, Jason not complaining about the free ride. The family was still in Bruce's room, Alfred here too now it was late morning. The reason for Bruce's initial distress became clear when he saw that they were all gathered around Tim.

The kid was leant up against Tim, tears pricking at his eyes as Alfred dabbed disinfectant on his chest. Damian hopped back up next to him, a flannel in hand he gave to Alfred before turning to Bruce.

"We have another one," Bruce said, setting Jason down gently on his front.

"Another one?" Jason repeated, his eyes glued to the scratches on Tim's chest. They were familiar, very familiar because Jason had the same writing on his thighs. On his back too if Bruce was to be believed.

Where Jason's had said Dick's name however, Tim's was a delicate circle full of derogatory names. The kid couldn't even look at them, his head turned into Dick's neck, as every swipe threatened the tears at the corner of his eyes to fall.

"How could they have done this?" Tim choked out, "I should have woken up. I should know when someone uses me like a canvas." He dry sobbed once before his head whipped around to turn on Jason, "What was it? Drugs? I wouldn't put it past you."

Wait. "You think I did this?"

"Who else?" And the tears did fall now, "You've always hated me. You're so whacked in the head you probably did write that on yourself and now-" he didn't finish, Dick hugging him harder around the middle to comfort him.

"It wasn't Jay Tim," Dick soothed, "You know it wasn't him."

Something stung his back, Jason rearing up like a cat as Bruce started cleaning him up. "They look to have been done around the same time," he observed.

"What's it say?" Jason asked.

There was silence, broken by Bruce saying, "It looks Latin."

"And you don't know latin?" Private school and rich boy Bruce was even without his worldly travels Jason expected to him to know latin.

Sure enough, "God can't save you."

Funny.

Tim was put on bedrest with Jason, Bruce angrier than Jason had ever seen him as he scoured the manor for the perpetrator. Two of his Robins had been hurt now, and if had any doubt that Jason's condition and this mysterious intruder were connected he didn't now.

"Right under my nose," he heard Bruce mutter. "Right under my fuc-"

"Master Bruce," Alfred said, "Master Dick would like to see you in the cave. He thinks he may have a lead."

Jason and Tim, in their reluctant truce, were made to sit on the training mats as Bruce went to see what Dick knew. Jason yawned, watching the two of them hiss at each other, then bend their heads, Dick looking their way every now and then.

Jason flexed his wrists, hating the bandages constricting his blood flow. He wondered if he could get Bruce to take them off later. It wasn't like they were broken, or even bleeding. The worst that were on them was a slight burn near the middle of the bruising.

"Why didn't you say anything," Tim said.

"What?"

The kid still had his beady eyes on Bruce and Dick and, Jason realised, was reading their lips. Something he should have been doing if only his brain worked properly.

"Dick said he heard you talking to someone last night. Why didn't you tell us this morning?"

Dick heard him talking to someone? He supposed he must have been sleep talking, or making conversation to his hallucination. Either or he didn't see why it was their business what Jason talked about to his own subconscious. "Wasn't important. I was just having another dream."

Tim shook his head, "From the looks of it, Dick said he heard you talking, and he heard someone else talk back. Saw someone," Tim corrected as he watched Bruce and Dick.

"Saw... who?" Jason pressed. "Who did he see?" If there had been someone there, then there could have been someone the other times too. The meta. It could have been the meta, he could have some kind of hallucinogenic power and be manipulating Jason for information or, he didn't know.

Tim shrugged him off, shushing him when he asked again. The two of them sat there for a while longer, Jason's thoughts getting wilder and wilder until Tim told him, "Bruce has heard you too." Tim stopped watching to glare at Jason, "How long has this been going on Jason?"

He didn't know. He couldn't answer.

Tim took this lack of information about as well as he could. If he wasn't in pain, Jason would have bet anything the two of them would be brawling it out until Tim accepted Jason really didn't know anything. Since he was in pain and therefore couldn't, he settled for tattling on him to Bruce, telling that Jason did know more than he was telling them.

Bruce tried to keep calm about it, but Jason had lived with him long enough to know when Bruce was secretly pissed. Whether at Jason or someone taking advantage of Jason was still up for debate.

Nevertheless this new information had Jason on the hot desk. He was given the full bat interrogation, Tim insisting that he could be present because he was a sadistic little bastard like that. 

At least he was given Bruce's comfy chair because of his back. 

"Who is it?" Bruce started with. "If you're protecting them, know that they've hurt you Jay, twice now, they don't care for you."

Jason groaned, not believing they were going down this route first, "No, no I don't know who it is. I'm not protecting them and I sure as hell want to catch them."

"Then why didn't you tell us about the other person."

It went on for a good hour, the same line of questioning with different variations. To all of them Jason couldn't answer. He really didn't know, and what was worse he didn't know when he was talking to them because he thought he was seeing things.

Bruce latched on to that like a dog with a bone. All of a sudden it wasn't about the other guy but what he was making Jason see, and that Jason definitely didn't want to answer. Something Bruce wouldn't take for an answer like he did before.

"But what did you see Jay? If you tell me we can work through it. Hallucinations often don't erase reality, merely bend it. If we can work past what you saw we can have something to work off."

"No."

Bruce wasn't so nice asking after that. He knew Jason remembered his visions and he knew Jason was uncomfortable talking about them. He also knew if he got Jason to talk about them he would have something to go off, and that far outweighed Jason's feelings.

"Titus is dead," Bruce snapped at one point, "You and Tim are hurt. This person is getting more violent the longer you don't confide in me Jay." 

Fear tactics didn't work. They never would, Jason having long seen things that terrified him more than Bruce. 

Unfortunately, Bruce knew this, and when he calmed down enough he tried a tactic that was much more successful. 

"I can make this stop Jay. I know you want that. I know you want to be back out there. Let me help you son." Damn him. Jason was too tired to put up a tough front for this crap.

He did want it to stop too. If this illness was because of someone not just a random sickness he wanted it to stop.

"Fine."

 He took a breath, censoring the beginning when Jason began to feel tired after a night with Dick in his apartment. Only, Bruce saw right through him. "Everything," he said, and Jason backtracked, looking at his hands the whole time as he told his story again.


	6. Chapter 6

Bruce was silent for longer than Jason thought he would be when he'd finished. He just sat there, looking at Jason, his face carefully controlled as it usually was in interrogations. It was a tactic they all had learnt to try and keep their victims on edge, or soothed depending on who it was they were talking to. Right now Jason wasn't feeling soothed. He'd basically confessed to sleep banging his older brother after all.

Speaking of, he couldn't even look at the other occupants of the cave. He knew they were still there, Tim having insisited after all. He could feel Dick at his back, retreated slightly as the story progressed. Damian was even here, Jason hearing him make slightly disgusted noises when it got to the more explicit parts. Also when Jason confirmed that he had almost been molested on top of Damian, which Jason could see the reasoning behind.

The silence stretched, Jason sneaking another peek at Bruce's face to still see that passive expression. Jason couldn't take it anymore, "I get it, okay, I'm twisted, he's my brother blah blah blah, but I didn't consciously decide for it all to happen."

"Jay," Bruce warned, a deep sigh following. Bruce got up, Jason feeling himself shrink under his loom. Oh God, he wasn't going to get physical was he? He was, but not in the way Jason expected. Bruce held him tight, Jason seeing Tim give the two of them a confused look. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Jason squeaked. 

"I'm so sorry Jaybird," Bruce said, pulling back to tell Jason, "I'm going to sort this out." He left, giving strict instructions to those left to keep a sharp eye on Tim and Jason. A really sharp eye.

"And you?" Dick asked, his voice slightly shaking.

"I have to make some calls."

Silence reigned again, Jason gently relaxing back in his chair. His brothers he could handle, it was always Bruce that was the wildcard.

He spun the chair a few times before stopping it in Damian's direction. He was the easiest one right now to talk to and Jason didn't want to spend the rest of his life in this oppressive silence. Damian was glaring at him, a usual expression on the kids face so Jason didn't see a need to be intimidated.

"At least we have a lead on Titus."

The kids glare softened slightly before hardening again, "We would have had one much sooner if you spoke up. You really are useless."

"Damian," Dick scolded. 

"He is. He's the reason Titus got killed in the first place. We should have left him and then it never would have followed him."

"We don't know that," Dick argued. "We don't know anything Damian. Whoever it is, they're smart and know how to cover their tracks. For all we know this thing was going to come after us anyway. Maybe, the only reason it went after Jason was because he saw it, really saw it and it's covering its tracks. We don't know anything, we can only guess and having a go at Jason is doing nothing to help anyone other than isolating the only person that can offer us some insight."

"You're honestly okay with this Dick?" Tim piped in. "He's been-"

"I know," Dick interrupted, his face red when Jason sneaked a look at him. "But it wasn't Jason's fault. You heard what he said, he wasn't in charge of what he saw. I would have thought the scratches on both of you would be proof of that."

Tim scowled, rubbing his chest lightly. Out of the two of them he got the worst of the name calling, yet Jason was still the more banged up both physically and mentally. "So you're saying you're fine about Jason-"

"Yes," Dick interrupted again, "And don't give me that look Timmy, I know for a fact you haven't had many saintly dreams with me in them either. Or have you forgotten about your first sleepover at the Tower?"

At the mention, Tim's ears turned bright red, the rest of him looking furious for both bringing that story up in front of Jason and Damian- the brothers who wouldn't just let stuff like this slide- and for remembering at all. "Shut up."

"Not until you stop giving Jason grief for his own. It's not his fault. And, come on, we're all boys, we've all went through it, we should be banding together, not pushing each other apart. Remember, this thing is taking advantage of us, not giving us pleasant dreams for the kick."

"I just think Jason should know better," Tim said.

Jason had heard enough, he didn't care about his back as he strode away from his brothers and towards the medical bay. Bruce had said he needed to be watched, not that he needed to keep close, Dick could see him from here, and Jason would be damned if he was going to listen to this whole debate on a loop for the rest of the day. It was bad enough he'd said anything in the first place. He didn't need Tim's jealousy, because that was what it was, it was plain to see on his face he was jealous that Jason still had these dreams about Dick. Worse, that Dick was being so understanding about them.

Really, Tim shouldn't have been surprised. If Dick could forgive Jason for murdering he could forgive him for a few naughty dreams that were out of his hands. He should have been more worried about the fact that he was almost a target last night. Tim should be grateful. Damian too. But, well, Jason didn't really know if Dick would have went for Damian, the dream seemed to be almost fearful. Of him and Bruce. 

At least he had been before last night. Now, who knew what he would to do them.

He fell back, the mattress stinging him as Jason shifted onto his front. He wondered if the attacker was still in the manor. If they could get into the cave. They could get through walls, who was to say they didn't know about Batman. If they did, Jason wasn't hidden down here. They all weren't. 

It was hours before Bruce climbed down the cave steps again. By then, two shouting matches had erupted, and Jason was playing babysitter to Damian. The brat had huffed himself sleepy after his fight with both Tim and Dick, and was now dozing half on top of Jason, a punishment, he said, for last night. 

Bruce seemed to go frantic for a moment, ready to rip into Dick before he spotted Jason on the med cot. His mouth closed on a sigh as he strode over, picking Damian up until he could slot himself on the cot with them.

"You make those calls?"

"Yes." Somehow they didn't make the situation better. Bruce was just as sullen as when he left, maybe even more so. 

"And?"

"They'll be here tomorrow," Bruce said.

"And that's bad why?" Since, as far as Jason knew, someone coming who knew what the hell was going on was great. It wasn't like they were making Bruce wait either. 

Yet, "Tomorrow, Jason. Whatever it is could come again tonight."

Oh. Right. His couldn't take his eyes off his wrists, black now, and the bruises more defined into definite shapes of fingers. They had grabbed him, held him so tight they'd bruised him, and Jason didn't know what they were doing to his body while he was off in lala land. "It's better than two days from now," Jason bit out. 

"It's still too late."

Jason sat himself up, images of the thing rocking itself on Tim haunting his mind. "But, we have a fair idea what we're up against now. We can make precautions. Traps. Unless, whoever this mysterious person you've been talking to doesn't have a clue what it is?"

"He had some ideas," Bruce agreed. "But he said he would need to come and scope the place out to know for certain."

Great. "Still, a hunch is better than anything." 

Bruce grunted, but when Jason went up he came up with him. 

The precautions Bruce had them make were extremely weird. He woke Damian as soon as he finished tinkering around on his tablet to get the kid to draw some witch sign in Bruce's room. Bruce went to work on the ceiling, Jason, for the first time in years, witnessing some of Bruce's artistic skills put to work. 

When the two of them were done, the symbols were massive. The one on the ceiling took up half the room, Bruce still grumbling about it not being big enough as he inspected Damian's work. Damian's was smaller, Bruce having told him to make it so it fit under the bed, not peeking out of the edges, not visible from afar, under the bed and hidden away. Still massive however, since Bruce had one of the biggest beds Jason had ever slept in. 

When the symbols were done to Bruce's satisfaction, he moved on to the bathroom, involving Jason by making him show Bruce where he'd been dragged in his dream last night. It was uncomfortable to tell his tale again, especially since Dick and Tim had wandered up and into the room as well at some point.

When Bruce finished with that he moved on to other things he wouldn't let them look at. Well, he wouldn't let the others look at, Jason was allowed, simply because Bruce still wasn't letting him out of his sight. In fact, he seemed to be keeping an extra, extra close eye on him. He watched wherever Jason moved, his eyes drawn to the simplest of things like Jason touching a nail Bruce wanted handed over to him.

Overall, preparing the manor before nightfall took around four hours, the worst of which was when Bruce told Alfred he was being moved to the Watchtower for the night. 

"Just in case Alfred," Bruce tried.

Not that it worked, Alfred went with all the pettiness he could muster. He gave Dick, Tim, Cass and Jason the longest hugs they'd ever had, telling Damian to be good for his father and merely reminding Bruce that they were still banned from the pizza place down town. He told them all to behave, gave a rather scathing look to Bruce and then stepped through the portal to hero central, leaving Jason feeling like he'd lost a limb as he was left with the rest of his family.

It turned out Alfred had been right come evening when Bruce tried to order something in- since none of them were eating his cooking- that they were still banned from the pizza parlour. Jason was tempted to ask how, but figured that would require actually speaking, something he wasn't doing unless necessary to these people right now. So, instead he looked it up, engrossing himself in the story so he would seem busy and therefore unable to cook for them when they came asking.

Which they did. It turned out Alfred had blacklisted them along with his petty departure from any fast food joints they frequented. One by one the names they listed got shot down. and more and more he saw Dick and Bruce turn hopeful eyes onto Jason. 

Eventually he had Dick pacing his way around the couch like a cat looking for a stroke. He made it look like he was doing something else, finding a book or picking something up. Awkward really considering he would usually be on Jason's lap squeezing him until he gave in. Things really had changed between them. It would take a while before things got back to normal.

Dick ended up behind Jason's head, his arms cushioned on the couch and peering over Jason's shoulder to see the paparazzi shots of the Wayne Family's shameful booting from Al's. "In my defence, Damian started it," Dick murmured.

Jason snorted, "Sure he did. Pretty sure you blame the kid for most things these days." Jason remembered when it used to be him. Dick always had a scapegoat for his antics. Jason sometimes wondered what excuses Dick thought up when it was just him and Bruce in the manor. Probably Bruce considering the only one who would tell Dick off would be Alfred back then.

"Tim gets his fair share too."

"And you get none?" As usual.

He felt Dick shrug, "What else are little brothers good for?"

"I'm still your little brother then?" The question of the week. 

"Don't know." An honest answer. One Jason preferred to a lie. Even if he wanted to hear that it was all alright, that Dick wasn't creeped out and they could just go back to normal, he much preferred the truth. It made things awkward, but an honest awkward. He didn't have to worry about Dick blowing up at him at a later date if they kept things realistic. Of course, that didn't mean that Jason wasn't wishing for the other when Dick asked questions like, "Do you still think of me as a brother?"

"Does Tim?" Jason countered. 

"Tim's complicated," Dick answered. "He's part of the family, but he was always not at the same time. Especially in the beginning." When Tim still had a family and was just that kid that came over to take over the Robin mantle. Really, Tim had been fifteen when he officially joined the Wayne name. That's a whole lot of puberty between then and now. A whole lot of Dick being a separate compartment. It just made Jason that much more messed up in comparison because from the get go Dick had been his older brother. "It's kind of flattering actually. Well, it is until I remember that he had some funny dreams about Bruce too, then it just gets weird."

"Bruce?"

Dick laughed, the sound happy instead of strained. "Good to know you have some limits."

"Bruce?" Jason asked again. 

"Yep." Dick laughed again. "You should have seen him at thirteen, he was a mess of excuses and running off for bathroom breaks. I'm pretty sure, you know like in those commercials with the hair and the music, all the slo mo, I would bet anything Tim heard all that when Bruce took his cowl off." Jason shuddered at the image, which just had Dick laughing all the harder. "You know, he probably would've had them about you too. I don't think it was a Wayne thing, more of a vigilante thing. He had that obsession with Robin after all."

"Nah," Jason denied. "It was always you Dickie. I was just the replacement."

"Maybe." They lapsed back into awkwardness. Compliments right now would be vastly inappropriate and as for other things, well, Jason couldn't blame Dick for changing the subject. "So, dinner. Think you could whip something up for me?"

Three rounds of begging and Dick roping Bruce in later Jason was shoving spaghetti into bowls and telling them if they wanted fancy they would have to get Alfred back.

Dinner was amicable. It could have been worse anyway, and before long Bruce was banning the rest of the kids from patrol for the night and suiting them up for bed.

If it was awkward to wake up next to his siblings, it was even worse falling asleep next to them. For some reason, now he knew things were going to get better, Jason was more wired than tired.

Bruce had to fend Damian off from the beginning. If he lay on Bruce's right, he would have to suffer Dick and his grabby hands. If he lay on Bruce's left then Jason would have to move and things would be even more awkward because Dick wasn't going to be making grabby hands to Jason any time soon. It wasn't like Bruce was going to send Jason to another part of the bed either, what with the hell that was going on. Then there was the problem with Tim. Not one, but two of Bruce's kids had been targeted, which meant he wanted eyes on them, or at least, to keep them close, like just his bulk would keep whatever it was away. If Jason was bad, Tim was public enemy number one for his father's affections to Damian, which meant a lot of fighting, snapping and even hair pulling before Bruce separated them enough to send Damian over to Dick's side of the bed. No arguments.

The room was like a furnace. So many warm bodies and a fireplace that was still roaring meant Jason was sweating in minutes.  Adding to that the fights and Cass jumping in as it turned nine meant that Jason was officially awake for the rest of the night. 

The other's however, must have been used to sleepovers like this since they soon settled down. Bruce was out before anyone else, his body deciding to take advantage of the extra sleep it was allowed and shutting down as soon as it was able. Dick wasn't far behind, as soon as he had Damian in prime snuggling position he started snoring. Tim and Damian, both on the same side of Bruce, had a staring contest until eleven where Dick smushed Damian to the sheets and the kid had no choice but to look away.

One by one they all dropped off, Cass the only one to stay awake with Jason. They wiled away the hours still conscious playing eye spy, or Cass showing him some of the basic sign language she knew from Barbra and Steph. When Alfred finally wandered in at twelve, the two of them played with the cats paws.

At least until one where the cat promptly yowled and jumped to the bottom of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Cass asked, like the cat could reply. 

Alfred circled himself, hissing with his tail all puffed up until he stopped and faced the direction of Bruce's bathroom. One clawed paw swiped, the cat rearing and trying again, Jason and Cass watching until Alfred stopped, his yowls quieting to a growl.

"Do you think it was... it?" Jason asked, not sure how to actually address this creature.

"Alfred thinks so," Cass nodded. "We should wake Bruce."

Jason did, shoving him none too gently until the man was sitting up with them. He was on high alert when Cass told him what happened. "Stay here," he said, climbing around them until he could sneak his way outside.

Jason wanted to follow. He could feel Cass next to him, just as tense, just as eager to leap to attention if they heard anything out of the ordinary. But time went on, and no sound was made.

"He has been gone a while," Cass said, and Bruce had.

Jason should have checked the time before Bruce set off, at least so he could have set a limit before following him. Now, he didn't know if ten minutes or an hour had passed. What he did know was that it felt like ages and Jason was getting antsier by the second.  

"I'm going to go look," Cass said.

"No," He didn't know why but he held Cass back. Something wasn't right. It was more than Bruce being missing. It was like something was keeping him away. In a house this old Jason should have been able to hear where Bruce was going. Even when he was sneaking around Jason had a sixth sense for when someone was near him. 

It didn't feel like Bruce, but it damn well felt like there was something waiting for him just beyond Bruce's room. If he went out, there was a good chance it would leave the rest of them alone. If he sent Cass out, he didn't know what might happen. Maybe a repeat of last night, this time with his little sister on the other end, or something worse. He wasn't all for family, but Cass didn't deserve to be made some meta's bitch. 

"We'll wait for a while longer," Jason said. He knew it wouldn't, yet some part of him hoped the thing on the other side of the door would tire of waiting for him and leave for the night. Threats be damned. "Ten minutes. If Bruce isn't back then I'll go. It doesn't want to hurt me, just mess me around."

Cass gave him a look like she couldn't believe Jason was saying these stupid things. Yet she sat back, the two of them keeping an eye on the clock on Bruce's night stand. 

The minutes ticked by. Tick, tick tick, each dull green number changing to another until ten minutes had truly passed. No Bruce. 

"Stay here," Jason said. "If I'm not back in fifteen, you wake Dick and bring him with you. We don't know if this guy is working alone."

She gave him another look, but nodded all the same and let Jason up. 

He was tempted to go out the door. Only thing was whatever it is was waiting on the other side. Jason opted for the window instead, climbing out and down even as his tired, pained body challenged every move. He'd had worse, he reminded himself as he made it to the bottom. By God he'd had worse. Didn't make what he was feeling any less bad however.

Picking the lock to the downstairs window was easy. Bruce liked to pretend he had high security, but he always made sure his kids knew how to break in if needed. 

The manor was cold. Colder than Jason would have liked after spending hours trapped between mountains of heat he called his family. He tried to keep to the carpeted areas, knowing it was easier to mask his footsteps here than on the hardwood. There was a thing people always forgot to tell about sneaking around. Sometimes, when you tried too hard, you could lose yourself more in trying to remain hidden than what you were sneaking around for. It was a lesson he had learnt the hard way, which was why, when doing recon, he preferred to make a big scene than sneak around. 

He made it to the staircase before he saw anything of interest. A scrap of black was tied around one of the posts, Bruce's initials Jason knew had been on his pyjama's standing out on the fabric. He didn't touch it, not knowing if Bruce had put it there himself or something else did. For all he knew, it was part of a trap. So he made note, and went up. 

There was another scrap under one of the rugs, the hem of Bruce's pant leg actually. Then another in Damian's room. It was like a trail, and Jason didn't think he wanted to know what was at the end.

Unfortunately for him, he'd been trained to go towards rather than run away so Jason continued on his trail. 

There was another scrap at the end of the hall, tied around one of the door knobs. Jason was about to twist it when a hand clamped around his mouth, an arm trapped his waist and Jason was dragged into the room next to it. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Dick hissed.

Jason relaxed, batting the hand away from his mouth. "I was looking for Bruce." He tugged away from Dick, his brother half heartedly glaring at him, "Where's Cass? I thought I told her bring you with her. Like go together."

"We did," Dick said. "I had her split up, one of us go one hallway, the other the next. We're meeting up in five minutes." Dick shoved him, "Now what the hell were you doing?"

"Look, if it wanted to kill me it would have by now. I had a better chance of finding Bruce without being hurt than any of you."

Dick sighed, louder than he probably should have in these circumstances, "What is with this family and their self sacrificing bullshit? Jason, you knew it was stupid to wander off, don't make excuses. Now come on, we're going back to the room."

"But-" They were already past the doorknob with the scrap on it. 

They almost made it back to the room before something clattered up ahead. Dick made a quick decision, yanking Jason into an alcove, the two of them pressed up close as something shadowy passed by. An innate sense of horror washed over Jason as he saw it, somehow his brain knowing this was what had been tormenting him. 

He felt Dick shiver up against him, the motion as frightening as it was interesting because if Dick was afraid, this must have been bad. 

"Jay?"

"I think it's gone," He wasn't sure, but he didn't have that sense that it was still lingering. 

"Really?"

He looked down, ready to tell Dick they should probably make a run for it just in case, when he stopped. Dick's eyes were glowing. Jason reared back, as far as he could anyway as Dick crowded in close. 

"The hell?"

Dick smiled. "Just a warning, don't fret about it. But, see, I got a bit worried, you looked like you were going to tell about our big secret, and I can't be having that."

"What?" 

"You're becoming a bit self aware, and, until I know you better I can't have you blabbing about me just yet. So, think of this as a simulation. A way of showing you just how bad things would be if you blabbed."

"What?" Jason asked again. This was making no sense.

Not that Dick minded as he kept going on, "All this awkwardness, the looks, the accusations, you don't want that Jason. You don't want Dick to look at you like you're a freak. You don't want Tim's jealousy, his anger, not really. You don't want Bruce knowing about me because I've watched him. I know he'll try and help and you know what I'll do?" 

He yanked Jason with strength he shouldn't have had, pulling him into Bruce's bedroom where five bloodied corpses lay. 

"They don't work Jay." The symbols, which were a bunch of scribbles now he looked closer. "People think they know how to get rid of us but they don't. Because they can't. They think an almighty and his symbols can ward us off, to stop us. God doesn't exist Jay. But I do, and look what I can do."

He was forced to look. His eyelids wouldn't close, his body paralysed. 

"Why are you doing this?" 

"I've told you why. I want you, and I want you to keep quiet."

"I don't understand."

And just like that Jason found himself rearing up on the training mats, Tim still by his side, staring at the opposite side of the cave where Bruce and Dick were talking. 

"Why didn't you say anything," Tim said.

Jason started. No- no, this had happened. This had already happened. What-?

"Dick said," He heard you talking to someone last night, Tim had said, was going to say, was, "you used to sleepwalk when you were younger too." He turned to Jason, a smirk on his face, "Are you sure you haven't been self harming too?"

No, no, this was wrong. So wrong it twisted his stomach. He only felt a slight bit of satisfaction as he puked all over Tim.


	7. Chapter 7

It took a while to get Jason to calm down. Bruce was at his wits end, especially when Jason made an escape.

He couldn't be here. He'd lived this day, or he thought he had, and it was driving him mad to do so again. He wanted to be safe, somewhere that wasn't the manor. He wanted to go somewhere where people didn't know his name, where, if he freaked out on them, they wouldn't give him a second glance. He could slip away back into the shadows and not held captive under scrutiny.

But Bruce didn't let him go. He hauled Jason around the waist, the two of them grappling until Bruce managed to pin Jason on the mats. He could see the other three behind Bruce, all of them looking at him with that same mix of pity and disgust they had in his dream.

"Let me go," Jason begged. "Please Bruce."

Bruce tightened his hold, "You know I can't Jay."

He was brought up to the manor, Tim too when he wiped the sick off his self. Alfred had Jason put in a bath, wrapped up tight and negotiating medicine as soon as he was put in the mans care. He wasn't leaving. He wasn't leaving until he was better, and after the week he had he didn't think that was any time soon.

Tim was sullen the whole time he was with Jason. Probably because the wide berth he wanted to keep with Jason wasn't allowed. He had to sit near, and in whoevers' sights since it wasn't just the one of them any more. Tim wasn't even allowed up to his room to fetch his charger or laptop since Jason was comatose for the time being. Needless to say, Tim wasn't happy, and Jason was probably not going to win brother of the year in his eyes. But, at least Tim wasn't giving him that look. That jealous sneer he wore almost constantly in Jason's dream.

Dick ended up taking pity on Tim around nine, just before he went out for patrol. He came in, full Nightwing gear, and handed Tim a comm and tablet that was hooked up to the batcomputer. Bruce wasn't too pleased, but since he had been off active duty for almost a week now, he was just as eager as Tim to crowd around the tablet and give orders.

It lifted Tim's spirits anyway, and kept Bruce from looming, so Jason couldn't complain.

He'd spent most of the day, when he wasn't recovering or in the midst of a panic attack, trying not to fall asleep. It was bad enough slipping up and not knowing, voluntarily falling asleep was worse. He would be giving over, and Jason didn't, couldn't, go through another attack today.

He tried everything to keep himself up, even begged Bruce to let him help Alfred before the tablet was brought up and Jason was trapped in the library again. He struggled to find something to do in here while the other two were busy. Reading was off the cards. He loved reading, hell, when he was a kid he felt like Belle in Beauty and the Beast when he saw the Wayne library for the first time. But when he read, he was treading a fine line between reality and his imagination, something so easy to slip further into if he lost concentration for even a moment.

He ended up hopping the chairs, hoping he could annoy Bruce into letting him leave. Bruce didn't, but the action itself was enough to keep Jason wired. He made it more difficult by skimming the top, adding flips and handstands until something caught his eye.

It was a book. One on the top shelves, the ones Bruce reserved for Bat research, not for general readership. It was old, the spine cracked and scratched, a horror to Jason's eyes really since he always kept his own collection clean and crack free. However, it wasn't the shoddiness of the book that held his attention, rather, the small symbol, barely noticeable on the dark spine.

He faintly recognised it.

Bruce didn't shout him down when he grabbed the ladder. He did keep a sharp eye, but he let Jason up to the top shelf.

The book closer up was tiny, especially compared to the tomes towering next to it. Jason took it out, the symbol on both the front as well as the side. He looked around, feeling like he was doing something wrong even if Bruce wasn't shouting him down as he opened it. The ink was faded, the inside covered in detailed illustrations and calligraphic letters. It was a lore book, similar to the ones Bruce had Jason read when he'd been Robin and there was a magician in town.

It wasn't anything fancy, the information inside was mostly useless too, Bruce having bought it, when he asked, because it was a bargaining chip they eventually didn't need. But still, there was something about it, about that symbol cropping up again and again.

He found the meaning of it, some kind of summoning circle which, again Bruce said was a bunch of nonesense when Jason asked.

"What's it summon?" Jason asked anyway.

Bruce pried his eyes from the tablet to flip the book to the right page. He didn't show that much care to it, something which righted itself immediately as Bruce caught Jason's pointed look. "It's meant to summon a demon. An incubus actually. Zatanna says that people would often try and sic them on lovers that had betrayed them as some kind of revenge. However, the symbol's a bunch of crap. Zatanna says there's no magic behind it. She thinks it might have been an attempt of a witch or sorcerer to make some money in the fourteenth century. A phony symbol for phony sorcerers."

Jason listened to it, but something inside of him didn't think Bruce was right when he said it was phony.

He studied the symbol for a while longer. Hours really when he looked at the clock. He looked at it until he eyes hurt and still he couldn't remember where he'd seen it before.

He yawned, the sixth one in ten minutes, and more than enough to catch Bruce's attention. "You okay Jay?"

He rubbed his eyes, nodding as a gust of wind perked him back up. He blinked, sure he was seeing things before rolling his eyes and turning back to his book.

"Okay, so I think I have something but I don't know if it's connected to your problem or not. Just thought you ought to know really," Wally rambled.

"What?" Bruce demanded.

Wally should have known better by now if he wanted Bruce to be civil to him. One, don't do it over the phone since phones could be hacked. Two, do not come into the Bats turf without permission, even if Wally had been around the manor longer than Jason himself. Three, do not come into Bruce's home, in costume, without warning. Each and every one of these things had Wally on Bruce's bad side before he even opened his mouth. Really, by now the speedster should know better.

Wally seemed to sense he'd done something wrong as he slowed down, stopped pacing and said, "I think Barry's still alive."

The room went still. Jason had heard the story just like everyone in the superhero community had. Barry had disappeared. He'd been fighting, or running or something, the story changing depending who you asked. But the result was the same, Barry had ran, he'd ran and not came back. Wally and Bart had looked for months for Barry. They'd travelled the world, the prisons, even had Superman look for him but Barry was gone. Presumed dead until now.

"Where?"

Wally wrung his hands, "I don't know. It was last night, just for a moment. I was running, going out for corn dogs, and then, it was like the world around me just left and I was in Keystone but it wasn't Keystone at the same time. And there Barry was, running next to me. He was slow, so slow, like he'd lost his speed, and he was shouting at me, trying to tell me something but as soon as I slowed down I lost him." He started pacing again. "I think it was him. I know it was him Bruce, and I know this is a bad time but I think we need to help him."

"Did you consider everything?" Did he consider Wally was hallucinating from longing and hunger Bruce meant.

Wally didn't take the insinuation that hard. Jason guessed he'd toughened up since joining the big league. "Yes. I did. But then I remembered the alert, and Bart. Remember, I told you on monitor duty how he thought he'd seen a different Metropolis when the alert came through. Maybe it was the same thing. I mean, maybe Barry had tried to contact us then and did so again last night."

Bruce looked like he was considering it as he nabbed the tablet off Tim, tapping on it a few times before his brow furrowed. "There was another anomaly last night. What time did you say you saw Barry?"

"Eleven. Surprised you didn't notice it until now," Wally noted.

"I was busy."

Busy snuggling with Damian Jason wisely kept to himself. It wasn't the time. Especially because he could see Tim shooting him warning looks, like he knew Jason wanted to snark the place up. He stuck his tongue out at the kid, tuning back into the situation at hand.

This must have been what had pinged their phones on game night, Jason realised. The thing no one had told him about, that he'd been excluded from.

"It matches up," Bruce said.

Wally was vibrating from excitement, his whole image a headache to look at. "So you think it's Barry? He's trying to contact us?"

"I think so. From where however, needs to be considered."

"The multiverse," Tim supplied.

"Most likely," Bruce agreed.

"I don't know," Jason argued. He wished he hadn't when he was put under scrutiny. Even sharing his opinion wasn't welcome apparently, but he carried on, knowing somehow the multiverse wasn't quite right. "I mean, we've had multiverse encounters before. Through all of them there was some kind of device or machine that took us from one world to another. This seems like it's bleeding."

"Doesn't mean it's not the multiverse," Tim argued, "We don't know everything that's out there, for all we know this could just be a new way."

"We'll look into both," Bruce said before a scrap could break out. "We'll find out what's going on," Bruce promised.

Wally hung around for a while, changing out of his suit at Bruce's insistence before the two of them started on theories and investigative work. Tim and Jason were told to sit and behave, even more so when Tim tried to join in the work.

"You're on bed rest," Bruce insisted.

"I'm injured not brain dead," Tim whined.

Tim ended up next to Jason anyway, glowering at anything and everything after he'd warned Jason not to puke on him again. Jason turned back to his book, not even trying to argue with Bruce at this point.

The symbol still nagged at him. Enough, that after another hour of trying to remember, he turned to Tim for help. "You recognise this?"

Tim huffed, "Of course, I was the one who had to find it online."

"No, I mean, do you have any idea where I might have seen it?" If Tim had been the one to get it Jason hadn't seen it in his Robin days. Maybe afterwards, when the pit still held a strong haze over his mind.

"No." Tim took the book from him, turning it over in his hands, the same look Bruce had on his face now passing over and over as Tim tried to remember something important. A few minutes passed before the book was back in Jason's lap. "No idea. Why?"

"Just feel like I've seen it before."

Regardless of his ill feelings towards Jason, Tim wasn't one to deny help if he could. He wasn't petty like Jason could be. "Maybe you saw it when you came in here. Short term de ja vu is actually more common than long term."

"I guess." It just didn't feel right.

Everyone was still awake when Dick, Cass and Damian came in from patrol. Damian and Dick were banged up, Dick more so than Damian, no doubt due to damage control. The fatigue left Dick however, as he spotted Wally.

Squealing, flappy hands and a lot of bodily contact for two self proclaimed heterosexual men later, Dick was just as excited as Wally about the idea Barry was still alive. Jason knew Dick had always liked him. Oliver had always left Dick and Roy to it when sleepovers happened, but Barry, being the 'cool uncle' and living in less than luxurious accommodations meant he was just as much Dick's uncle as he was Wally's.

Damian would have hung around too had Cass not dragged him out and to bed.

Dick, for all his want to help, only managed half an hour before he was drooling in Wally's lap. Jason was tempted to follow, he found himself falling on Tim twice p, each time the kid punching him back awake. Jason didn't blame him, not after the week they'd had.

He was falling asleep a third time, teetering close to Tim's knee this time, when a flash of memory hit him full on. His dream. That was where he'd seen the symbol. Bruce had Damian draw it under the bed, Bruce doing the rest on the ceiling and bathroom.

He reared up, Tim scuttling away as Jason grabbed the book. Demon summoning. Demon summoning! Last night dream Dick had been warning him, telling him to keep his mouth shut. But maybe, the thing had given away more than he thought he had.

The thing, whatever, whoever, could move through walls, it could invade his dreams, his waking world. Jason hopped up, racing up the ladder to grab as many books as he could.

Oh it had been smart, making him lethargic, taking Dick's form. It had Jason thinking he had lost his mind. Sure, this might not be right, but Jason's gut told him he was on the right path.

The demon lore Bruce had was quite extensive. Considering all the occult and magical happenings he'd fought over the years Bruce would be stupid not to have a big collection. What was truth and what wasn't was hard to decipher however.

If Jason was right, and this was a demon, God he hoped it wasn't but still, then it wasn't operating under the same rules as it should. That symbol, Bruce had said it was useless, yet the thing had put it in Jason's dream. A joke maybe? A test to see if he had figured it out? Or was it an actual symbol, an actual summoning. Who was to say that Jason had only been dreaming until that symbol had appeared. Until Damian and Bruce had finished drawing it and things had went downhill.

He tried to remember if it had popped up anywhere else. If it was in his apartment, his room, his bathroom. Yet, it hadn't been. What was so different between this time and the others?

"Let me see your chest," Jason said.

Tim, as if Jason were the bad guy here, clutched his chest like a maiden, a look that could only be described as scandalous on his face. "No."

"Please?" And sure Jason could have maybe asked it without the growl, but he was desperate right now.

Tim scrambled away, getting to his knees before Jason flattened himself on top. Tim tried, as he usually did, to get away. He put up a real fight too. But Jason was bigger, more experienced, and even ill stronger than Tim so he had the kid on his back, his wrists pinned and the bandages riding up with his shirt.

"Jay," Bruce warned, finally glancing over from his work. "Let him go."

He did, he'd seen what he wanted.

Tim's chest wasn't in a circle. Or, it wasn't just in a circle like Jason had originally thought. The words were carefully chosen, the vowels and consonants placed so it resembled the symbol on the book.

Interesting.

Jason checked himself, getting the kid to snap a picture of his back, well, forcing him to, and checking his thighs as well. They were just lines, nothing special. Not like Tim's. So why Tim and not Jason? Why only in Jason's mind?

Tim retreated next to Bruce, the kid curling up on top of Dick so Jason couldn't grab him again. He didn't care, he had books to check.

Demons were malevolent creatures. They only wanted to cause destruction. An incubus was considered a lesser demon, the lore not having much on them since they were termed mischievous rather than dangerous.

Jason wanted to get whoever had wrote that line, show them the crap he'd been through and demand they tell him again that this thing wasn't dangerous.

An incubus was a creature devoted to sexual acts. It fed from the energy sex created, and when it latched onto a human it wouldn't leave until their purpose was achieved.

Well, considering Jason had been, he was pretty sure, feeding this thing from the get go, he couldn't think of a reason why it was still hanging around.

Most often an incubus was summoned, like Bruce and Zatanna said, and set upon someone to exact revenge. They always left the victim alive, but drained, and usually with a sense of violation that would stay with them for the rest of their life.

Well, Jason felt drained, and he could definitely think of a few people who would want revenge on him. But revenge with magic, he couldn't think of anyone that fit that M.O.

An incubus, was of the same kind as a succubus, only male. There were a lot of ugly drawings of them, Jason remembering that night he could have sworn Dick had wings. They didn't often find need to take human shape, yet the one he'd met had been pretty set on Dick's form. Maybe it had known of Jason's want for Dick.

Maybe.

He was more convinced now than ever that he was dealing with a demon. A demon with a fixation on him. He breathed deeply, controlled, he had to think this through. He had to prepare because this thing had made it clear it wasn't content with a one time deal. It had messed with him, mocked him, killed Damian's damn dog. This thing wasn't going to leave without a fight, and for once, Jason didn't have a clue how to defend himself.

First thing was first, he needed to find out what it wanted. Really wanted. Before, when he'd asked, he'd been begging on some level for understanding on what this thing was more than what it wanted. He'd went into the negotiations blind. Well, not any more. He knew what it was now, he hoped, and he was going to get answers, real answers, even if it killed him.

Again.


	8. Chapter 8

"Scooch," Dick demanded, already shoving Tim up against Bruce before he finished.

 

"Why am I always on this side of the bed," Tim threw at Bruce. "It's not fair. There's more room on that side. "

 

"Timmy, there's two of us here and three over there. There's more room here," Dick huffed, squirming about to get comfy. Jason watched Tim flinch three times as he, no doubt, got kicked and rubbed against in all the wrong ways.

 

Tim wasn't wrong there being more room on Jason's side. Bruce seemed to push the others right to the edge so Jason, Cass and Damian could find some space where they could lie, but not touch each other. There was also the problem of Dick on the other side. There could be miles between Tim and Dick and Dick could even promise to keep his hands to himself. Yet, as soon as he fell asleep all promises were off the table. It was a race against time, a countdown ticking away as Dick's sleepy body twisted and coiled until it sensed the nearest source of heat, and pounced.

 

Ordinarily, that would be one of his girlfriends, or Bruce on the odd times this situation Jason was currently in occured. In those times, there were rarely more than three people in the bed at one time, Dick using his younger siblings as an excuse to cuddle up to Bruce. Now, however, all of them were there, and Bruce, if he wanted to sleep that night, had to make sacrifices for the greater good. He had to appeal to all factions and come up with a good solution that wouldn't mean one of his kids were kicked out. Bruce was a sap like that.

 

Jason, for his part, lay with his arms crossed just daring Damian to try and push him away again. The brat hadn't tried to so far, no doubt he was waiting until Jason fell asleep to try and worm his way in the middle again. Until then, he was lying similar to Jason, his little arms crossed and as far away as he could get from any form of physical contact.

 

The arguing on the other side of the bed continued for a while. Long enough for Cass to knock the light off and Bruce to worm one arm around Jason's prone body. One thing no one would ever admit to about Bruce was that he was a bit of a cuddler. Jason suspected it was Dick that had eventually broke him, that, coupled with Bruce's repressed desire for contact and family meant that by the time Jason had started wandering the halls after a nightmare, Bruce was ready and willing to hug it out as long as Jason wanted.

 

Dick had apparently also told Bruce it was a norm to hug the child when sharing a bed too since Tim was similarly held close as Dick latched on to his other side.

 

It was just as hot as his dream had been. Hotter even since this wasn't a dream. Sweat was beginning to drip down Jason's nose, Gotham deciding to be warm today as the family finally settled down for sleep.

 

Jason heard them all drop off one by one. Dick had gravitated almost on top of Tim, his toes brushing against Jason's legs as Dick tried to spread himself as wide as he could. Tim's nasally snores were muffled at least. Bruce's on the other hand, Jason cringed as another bear like growl hit his ear.

 

Cass was silent in sleep as she was in life. Jason had to actually sit up to make sure his little sister was asleep. Damian, well, the kid had been awake way longer than an eleven year old should be so Jason didn't worry too much as he slid out of the sheets.

 

Jason made his way down the hall, not far, just enough doors down so if something went wrong there was a good wall between this thing and the rest of his family. God he hated being here, the fact that thought, that worry about his family was passing through his head showed he'd been here too long.

 

The only room in Bruce's corridor except his bedroom was a smaller bedroom. During the olden days, or so Jason had found out when Bruce had told him to wait until he was older to ask again, it was a room the man of the house would use either as a nursery or a room to keep his mistress.

 

There were still remnants of baby things in here, the crib Bruce's parents had for him covered by a sheet. There were photos in here too, happier ones that Bruce couldn't force himself to look at even if he tried. This wasn't just Bruce's nursery after all. Apparently Martha had miscarried three times before Bruce was born, and each of the photos in here were of different times, different hopes of a baby this time. Jason knew Bruce couldn't bring himself to look at the life they had before, their hopes and thoughts of a future.

 

There was a door connecting the two rooms, one that was locked on Bruce's end. It would slow him down for a few minutes.

 

Jason cleared the space, pushing the crib and toys to the edges of the room. He wrung his hands a few times, wondering how this worked. "Are you there?" Maybe he had to be asleep. Or, at least, tired. "Dick?"

 

There was nothing. There was nothing for long enough that Jason considered heading back to Bruce.

 

Then two arms wound around his neck. "This is new. Usually I have to come to you." A gentle kiss was put on his cheek, the action a complete turnaround compared to their last two meetings. "What do you want Jay?"

 

He ignored the sexual undertone. Clearing his throat, he was proud at the steadiness of his voice, "I know what you are. I know you're a demon."

 

The arms didn't unwind, but nor did they tighten like Jason thought they would. Dick showed no angry reaction, just kissed Jason's cheek again, lingering longer as he dragged his lips to Jason's jaw.

 

"I know you've been feeding off me." He swallowed, bringing his hands up to get ready to throw Dick off, "I want you to stop."

 

Still Dick didn't turn violent, merely hummed as he started on Jason's collarbone.

 

"I mean it. You're draining me dry. I can't- you're going to kill me."

 

That had Dick pulling away, the demon coming around to face Jason. "Kill you?" He narrowed his eyes, raking them over Jason's body. "I guess I have been a little enthusiastic. But that's no reason to stop Jay."

 

"You're feeding off me," Jason said again. "More than one time too. I thought your kind only did it once and then moved on."

 

Dick shrugged, "What can I say. You're special Jay."

 

Jason huffed. God he'd been so stupid. He could see that now. His brain must have really been tired not to notice all the little differences between this Dick and the one sleeping soundly next to Bruce. He had the same build, the same eyes and hair. He was still beautiful. But he was too perfect. Too pristine. He was missing the scars that Dick wore like a tattoo. The line that stretched from his neck to his collarbone from a kidnapping gone wrong. The ones on his wrist and thighs, the ones on his feet from tumbling and falling for years.

 

"Did someone set you on me? Is this some kind of revenge? Why are you doing this?"

 

Dick pursed his lips, "No. No, and because I think you're yummy. Figuratively and literally."

 

Jason wanted to feel annoyed at the answers, but so far, Dick had actually been rather helpful. He wasn't angry, he wasn't violent, and when Jason asked a question, he did answer. Just not in the detail Jason would have liked.

 

"Well, be that as it may, you are not eating me anymore. I'm being serious."

 

Dick pouted, "Don't be like that Jay."

 

"Like what?"

 

Dick waved his hand around, "like that. Like you're breaking up with me."

 

"If that's what you want to call it."

 

Dick still didn't turn violent, just sighed like Jason was being especially dim and stepped a little closer to him. "Come on Jay, you're not serious. You know you're not, I know you're not, so stop with all this postering and let's get to the dirty stuff."

 

He stepped away when Dick reached out. He couldn't be sucked in, this thing was not Dick, it wanted to eat him. "I'm not postering, I mean it. That thing in the bathroom, that's the last you're getting from me."

 

Dick laughed, the sound even the same as Dick's. It was confusing. It was terrifying.

 

"What?"

 

"Just that you actually believe that." He stepped forward, into Jason's space until he could run his hands down Jason's chest . He should have ran, this was the time to run but God, he even smelled like Dick. The demon in front of him let out a content purr, "See? This is why I know you're lying. You want me. You're always going to want me, I can smell it on you. Taste it. And I want you too, so why don't you just give in and I can show you heights of pleasure you've never even dreamed of."

 

He could feel himself giving in with every word Dick spoke. He did want Dick. It was wrong of him, even more wrong because this time he knew what was going on and Jason still wanted to give in. He wanted to know what it was like with Dick. The one in front of him looked like Dick, smelled like him, sounded like him. His skin was soft and Jason found it so hard to notice the differences between the two Dick's that he could convince himself this was the other one.

 

But, "You're not him. You're just some demon who took his form."

 

At that Dick frowned. "More like he took mine."

 

"What?"

 

Jason found his back to the wall, anger, finally flooding over Dick's face. "This is my face. Mine. That thing you call a brother is nothing more than a pale imitation. He's broken, scarred. He's human." The pure disgust dripping out of his mouth had Jason wondering where this was coming from.

 

The more pressing question however, was, "How? I mean, I thought demons were all..." He made horns with his fingers.

 

Dick huffed, two wide wings unfurling and his eyes glowing blue again. "You honestly think I could seduce people if I wasn't pretty?" And by God Dick was.

 

The wings weren't bat like how Jason had always thought a demons would be. They were black, lucious, with blue feathers dotted in here and there. He looked like an angel.

 

Jason saw his hand reaching out before he could rethink it. The feathers were soft, unbelievably soft. Dick let him stroke them, something like confusion in his eyes.

 

"You... like them?"

 

"They're gorgeous." Not that Dick didn't already know that.

 

Apparently he didn't. Or somewhere in his mind he had convinced himself that Jason wouldn't. "They're useless," Dick said, turning slightly so Jason could see the back. Where the wings should have connected smoothly the bones were mishapen. It looked like when Alfred, the cat, brought birds back to the manor, the wings half torn and skin missing where he'd chewed at it. "It's what they do. The others. When I refused to stay they grabbed me, pulled on them and let me fall. Can you imagine a life without flying?"

 

Jason heard the subtle undertone, the way Dick was twisting his words to something to be felt sorry for. He was speaking some truth right now, but that didn't mean he was going to stop angling for a way to get Jason under him.

 

Sure enough, Dick was back with hands on his chest, his eyes dulling down to normal hues until it was just Dick standing in front of him. Well, Dick with wings. "I know you understand. I've seen your family. What you do. I see how you yearn to be with them. That thing you do might not be flying, but it's the closest thing you're gonna get."

 

Not if Dick keeps feeding echoed around Jason's head, giving him the strength to push Dick off. "I said no."

 

Dick frowned, the coy gone, "Jay."

 

"I don't care. I don't care about any of this. I want you gone and I want you to leave me alone. Just- go back to hell."

 

A dark look came over Dick's face, one that made Jason fearful of the earlier anger returning. "Believe me," he said, "I wish I could." The look left, in its place one of unhurried amusement. "But since I can't, you are going to keep me fed. Don't worry, I won't take much. Really, this time I'll just leave you tired enough that seven hours will get you back to fighting fit." He turned, a dramatic leave really since he could just appear out of thin air. He stopped before he got to the door. "Oh, but I guess we should address this little thing here. I mean, I offered and you shot me down and Jay I've told you there would be consequences if you did. So, really, this is on you."

 

"Wait-" He made a grab, his hands flying through nothing but air. "No!"

 

He ran, expecting a scene out of his nightmare, yet when he got there his family were still fast asleep. He woke them anyway, rough shoves that had them all batting at him and shouting their discontent.

 

"Are you okay?" He asked again and again, until he was sure, really sure they were all alive, breathing and unharmed. Even Tim, who had been Dick's target before.

 

"Jay what's wrong?" Bruce asked.

 

"You're fine, you're all okay," he breathed. Except-

 

He was up and racing down the halls, not caring that he slammed into walls and fell down the last three steps. All he cared about was getting to the opposite side of the manor as fast as he could.

 

"Alfred!" He called, banging on the door, "Alfred. Alfred!"

 

A moan answered him. It was all he needed to break down the door. He figured Bruce could add one more on his list to fix as the lock broke and Jason stumbled in. Alfred was in his room, curled up on the floor and groaning again.

 

"Alfred?" He fell down next to him, "Alfred, what's wrong? What happened?"

 

Alfred grit his teeth, the glare more for the pain than Jason as he said, "I may have fell."

 

"Fell?"

 

"Pushed, it feels like. But, not to worry Master Jason I've had worse."

 

Jason believed him. But he also believed that the look on Alfred's face was pain anyway. "Here," he helped Alfred up, sickened to watch as they made it to standing before Alfred's leg gave way. It was no doubt it did too. The whole thing was twisted from the knee down, the bone broken, mangled almost as Alfred hefted his trouser leg up to look at it. It looked like bite marks, seven of them littering his skin on the way to his foot.

 

"God," Bruce said, the man finally catching up, stopping at the door as he saw Alfred's leg. "Dick, get the car!"

 

It was a long night at the hospital. Between fighting who got to go with Alfred, shouting between Bruce and Alfred about hypocrisy and questionable medical attention, not to mention Bruce not wanting to leave any of his kids in a manor that was probably still harbouring the criminal attacking them, just getting to the emergency room was a challenge. The waiting around was just as bad. Damian was inconsolable. He obviously cared for Alfred more than he said, and the fact both him and Titus had gotten the more violent end of this situation meant he snapped at everyone and anyone who came near. It was worse when the doctors tried to talk to him. Jason didn't even stick around for that. Instead, he holed himself up in the bathroom.

 

"Why did you do this?"

 

No one answered him. Of course no one answered him. This had been his fault, completely his fault. Dick had warned him. Repeatedly too. He'd said something bad would happen if Jason said no and it had. More than once. He should have done something else. Said yes, or done more reading. Not that he hadn't done a lot, he had.

 

He'd read everything he could on demons and Incubus until his vision swam and Bruce dragged him to bed. He'd read about repelling them, summoning them. He'd read about common behaviour, personality and even looks. Yet everything he knew about them seemed to be nothing compared to Dick.

 

He wasn't ugly, he wasn't horned and bat winged. He was gorgeous, and if he was telling the truth he had Dick Grayson's face as his own, which, as a human was stunning. His behaviour was different too. He had a fixation for a start, and while Jason had read that an Incubus would often use paralysis to achieve their goals Dick had only done that until he found Jason to be willing. Even tonight,he could have forced himself on Jason but he didn't. He let him choose, and, sure, maybe he had enjoyed the chance to cause havoc, but the demon hadn't raped Jason.

 

He just...

 

"Jay?"

 

"In here."

 

Dick pushed open the bathroom door, and he made sure it was Dick, checking to make sure those scars were there. He came over, crouching until he was eye level with Jason. "Hey."

 

"Hey."

 

Dick dove forward, worming his way between Jason's legs to hug him. He hugged back. He needed it. Seeing Alfred like that. One day they wouldn't be so lucky with just a broken leg. He wasn't as young as he used to be, and broken bones on a man his age would be even more difficult to heal. A broken bone that was entirely Jason's fault.

 

He held a little tighter.

 

Dick pulled back, wiping dry eyes like he was expecting tears to fall any minute. "Doctors say Alfred has to take it easy for a while."

 

Jason huffed, "He's gonna love that."

 

They shared a smile, "Yeah, I know. Bruce is already thinking up ways to keep Alfred put. All of them I'm sure he's going to see right through."

 

"There's a reason why I always found Alfred scarier than Bruce," Jason said.

 

Dick hummed in agreement.

 

The two of them sat there for a while, Dick gravitating next to him rather than on top. He still kept close, his head leaning on Jason's shoulder. It would be a few hours before they would be allowed to go home. It looked like they were going to be sleeping through the day again.

 

"How did you know?" Dick asked.

 

"Know?"

 

Dick shifted until he could look Jason in the eye. It was a thing with him, Dick always using it as a tactic to force people to be truthful to him. If they weren't, he would know, and if they weren't and they knew Dick, they were basically shattering his trust. "About Alfred? How did you know he was in trouble?"

 

"I-"

 

"Don't," Dick huffed, and there, that was the disappointment Jason hadn't wanted to see. "Don't even try and deny you didn't know because you did. I could see it Jay. It was more than just a bad dream or a funny feeling. You were frantic, you knew something had happened, you just didn't know to who."

 

"I-"

 

"Jay please. If you know something tell me. I know you don't like talking to Bruce so talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

 

"I can't," he finally choked out.

 

Dick frowned, "What do you mean you can't?" Dick stopped him before he could talk again. "Okay, I get it, so how about this, you squeeze my hand. Just a little if I get near the right answer. You aren't telling me anything okay?"

 

It was a stupid tactic. Really stupid. It was something they employed to their young victims. The ones who were too scared to speak out. Jason wasn't young, but he sure as hell was scared, and technically if Dick just guessed he wasn't telling.

 

He squeezed.

 

"Good. Okay, did you know it was Alfred that was going to be attacked tonight?"

 

He didn't know whether to squeeze or not.

 

Thankfully, Dick read his hesitation. "Did you know one of us would be attacked? Not just Alfred?"

 

Again, that was a hard question. He did when the demon was done, but from the way Dick asked it sounded like he was asking if Jason had been given this information in advance.

 

Dick pursed his lips. "How about this, do you know who hurt Alfred?"

 

Jason squeezed.

 

"You do?" He calmed, "Have you always known." A certain nothingnesshad Dick plowing on, "Did you find out tonight?" He squeezed. "Did they threaten you?" He squeezed. Dick sighed, "It must have been something bad if they rattled you Jay."

 

It was more than bad. This thing, this demon, it didn't have to be in the same room, or even with a weapon for something bad to happen.

 

He squeezed. "Do you have a name?" He squeezed, then thought better of it. Just because it had responded to Dick didn't mean that was his name. "Do you know what they want?" He squeezed. "Can you tell me?" No. "Do you know when they're coming back?" No.

 

Dick asked a few more questions before stopping.

 

He rubbed his face, Jason wishing he could just tell Dick what was going on.

 

"We'll figure this out Jay. I promise."

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Three of them were now officially on bed rest. Sure, Tim said he was alright now. He was a bat after all, and small injuries like being carved into were just something they all brushed off eventually. In fact, if Jason hadn't spent the past week in and out of dangerous sleep he was sure he would be arguing with Bruce to let him go. For now, however, Jason could wait another day until he tried to escape.

"Sit down," Bruce ordered again. 

Tim stayed standing, glaring pointedly as he paced around. Bruce had just told him he couldn't go out again. The third time that day and not the first time he'd raised his voice since coming back from the hospital.

It had been a hard morning. Alfred had been released from the hospital at five, the sun just rising as Alfred was cast up and given crutches. As soon as he was in the car, Jason heard, he'd been complaining. Not his usual snark that he gave when he was in a bad mood. Alfred had been complaining. Full on, hour long, complaining. Tim had said he'd never seen Alfred like that, and had actually been afraid to break the silence when it descended. 

"I think he was trying to put Bruce off from starting," Tim finished.

He hadn't been wrong. Between Tim pacing, Alfred had made it known just how uncomfortable he found his current seating. Never mind he was in the comfiest chair in the manor. Nor that Jason had cooked him breakfast and Bruce was waiting on him hand and foot. Alfred was used to being independent and, from experience, Jason knew that nothing was going to keep him down. Not a cold, not a sudden case of pneumonia, and certainly not a broken bone.

He had attempted to go about his own work as soon as he got out the car. He'd almost made it to the kitchen before Bruce caught up with him. Jason had seen many things that morning he wished he hadn't. Bruce carrying Alfred up to the second story and taking his crutches was one of those things. 

Jason had kept well and truly out of both their ways after that. Thankfully, Dick and Damian were thinking the same thing, Cass having volunteered to stay with TIm. With a watcher, Jason had no reason to stick close by Bruce. 

"Okay, what's next?" Dick asked. He looked ridiculous. Both him and Damian. Since Bruce was keeping Alfred hostage, Dick had told them they needed to do Alfred's daily work, just so he wouldn't actually have a reason to get up. They'd already tackled the breakfast, well, Jason did with Damian playing mini chef after Dick had been exiled to the corner of the room. Dishes were done, laundry collected and started. The first floor was next, Jason remembering Alfred's daily schedule from his time living here. He was happy to do it all, and so were the other two. What Jason wasn't happy with were the stupid aprons Dick had magicked up from somewhere. He still didn't know how Dick had managed to persuade Damian to wear his own. He didn't want to know either, lest he be suckered into wearing the third apron still waiting for him.

"You do the dusting, I'll start with the sweeping and Damian can-" He was going to say walk Titus, forgetting for a moment the dog wasn't still with them. It would have been an easy way to soothe Damian into menial labour. Especially since he still thought it was somewhat beneath him. But, Titus was gone, so Jason quickly changed tactics into, "Damian can start wiping things down. Make sure you're careful."

Damian tutted at him, but, strangely, didn't complain as he took the cloth handed to him and started on the vase. 

Dick sidled up next to Jason, "He's worried."

Jason hummed, he could tell. "We all are."

He started towards the broom before Dick could start on another heart to heart. He was still recovering from last night. In fact, the relief he'd felt at telling Dick had worn off almost instantly after he'd finished. He had been stupid even admitting to Dick the things he did. He didn't know whether the demon was watching him. He didn't seem tethered to the manor, not if he had first appeared in Jason's apartment. If he was tethered to Jason then he could follow him wherever. He'd warned Jason that there would be consequences if he told, which he did. Not out loud, and mostly just admitting things when Dick guessed the truth but he had still told. He'd still given Dick some information about what was going on. 

He focused on sweeping, surprised when he actually had a little pile of dirt to collect. Just how dirty was this family that there was this much after a day? He would have to start taking his shoes off when he came breaking in here late at night. Inconvenient, but if it meant Alfred had one less muddy footprint to clean up Jason would feel better.

They had twenty rooms on the bottom floor to clean, this the only part of the manor that wasn't sectioned off into lived in and abandoned. It took them the better half of the day, Damian demanding to do more of the adventurous jobs when he'd grown tired of wiping stuff down.

"Well how do you think Alfred feels. He does this all the time. You think you're bored?"

That shut the kid up, but the pout Damian wore afterwards had Jason taking pity on him anyway. He let Damian use the vacuum, wishing he hadn't when Dick got on board and he had one or the other trying to mow each other down. Jason would have been obliged to play too, but they hadn't even scratched the surface of the manor and Jason didn't want to give Alfred any excuse to get up. Not after last night. It was his fault after all, and who knew what was going to happen to Alfred now Jason had blabbed.

They cleaned until lunch, where Jason had Damian sent off to make something small for those stuck in the library. 

"What about us?" Dick whined.

"You can wait until dinner." Maybe a sort of punishment for messing around. Jason wasn't going to admit anything. 

Damian came back with the vacuum and a sandwich for Dick, claiming "Grayson gets annoying when he's hungry." The little sap.

The bedrooms were next, Alfred saving the upper floors for special days if there wasn't a big mess one of Bruce or his underlings had made. Jason's hadn't been slept in for a few days, which meant it only needed a wiping down for them to consider it done. Damian's too was pristine, the kid telling them that "Father insists my room be kept in good condition so I can find things in an emergency." Bruce was such a manipulative father it was unreal.

Still, Jason couldn't complain because when Damian said it was clean he meant it was clean. He wiped it down, made the bed and even vacuumed so Alfred wouldn't come in and upset his things.

That just left the other rooms. Cass' they debated on leaving alone. She had girly things in there, things brothers shouldn't know about. It could be something, it could be nothing, but Jason didn't want to stumble on something if he didn't have to, and it looked like Dick didn't either.

"Why don't we just make the bed?" Dick proposed, which, yeah, Jason could get behind that idea.

So that was what they did. They made the bed, figured Cass was a clean enough person to get by without a better cleaning and moved on. Moved on to the big leagues.

 "How can you live like this?" Jason asked. Now, Tim was arguably the worst in the family for mess, but he had to have learnt it from somewhere. Jason had a strong suspicion it was Dick. 

Dick didn't even live here full time and yet his room was a mess. There were clothes strewn everywhere, even the light, which Jason guessed had happened when Dick had kicked his feet up to disrobe. Or something. 

Plates were, thankfully, absent, unlike Tim's infested room. But that wasn't to say it was clean. Apart from the clothes, Dick was something of a hoarder. Sure, he travelled light, and his belongings were scarce, but when he set up his nest, Dick had a tendency to steal from others. He kept them, buried under piles of his own stuff, Jason knowing because last time he'd been to Dick's apartment he'd had a bit of a tidy up and found his old leather jacket hidden beneath a pile of briefs. 

Dick, also unlike Tim, had a sense of shame. "Guess it's got a bit out of control."

"A bit?" 

"Grayson, you would no doubt die in an attack with a room in this state," Damian piped in.

Dick laughed, looking to Jason to share the amusement. Jason stood by Damian. Odd tactic or not, Jason was kind of on board with Bruce's words in this case. How Dick found anything in this room was beyond him. 

"Okay, so it's messy. We can clean it up." 

"Fine," Jason agreed. "But if we do we're gonna have to leave Tim's until tomorrow. I can only handle one apocalypse at a time."

"Agreed," Damian said. 

"I wouldn't describe it as an apocalypse," Dick grumbled as Damian dove into the first of the piles.

They found a whole host of treasures in their investigations. Damian found three jumpers that belonged to his father, all of which he gave Dick a good dressing down for. Apparently Bruce had been looking for those jumpers. He also found two wingdings, a katanna that belonged to Damian and a bra who Dick, no matter how much Jason asked, would not tell whose it was.

Jason, for his part, kept unearthing things Dick had stolen from him. A shirt, a belt, two pairs of sneakers, Jason's jacket, which he swore he'd stolen back, and a photograph that Jason had in one of his safe houses. It was of him and Dick, the one Dick had taken when the two of them had took a trip to the circus. Dick had insisted on matching shirts he got made for the occasion. It was one of the few times they had actually spent as brothers before Jason died.

"We are going to have a serious conversation about this some day Dickie."

Dick smiled sheepishly over at him, tossing Jason another shirt he'd stolen. 

Jason gave up around four. He needed to start on dinner, since no one in this manor could cook except him apparently. He left Dick sorting the rest of his stuff out, taking Damian down to the kitchen since he may as well teach the kid some life lessons if he needed a shadow. 

They dug through Alfred's cook book, Jason telling Damian to keep its whereabouts a secret if he ever wanted to see another breakfast and let the kid pick something out. There were vegetarian options, thankfully, and Jason actually preferred them since he hadn't set out any meat from the freezer earlier. 

Damian was a rather good mini chef. He didn't ask too many questions and was handy with the knife. He'd been rather well behaved all day actually, well behaved and sticking by Dick. Jason could see his logic. Bruce could handle himself in Damian's mind, it was how it went for all kids and their parents. Well, all kids who had the right upbringing. Bruce was fine. Cass, well Jason didn't know if Cass even registered on Damian's list yet as family, or even as vulnerable. But Dick, well, Dick was Damian's favourite. Three of them now had been attacked, and in order of weak, Dick was next on the hierarchy to be targeted.

"He's gonna be fine kid," Jason said.

Damian looked up from where the onions were frying, "Of course he is Todd."

At least he wasn't denying anything. "No, I mean it. Dick's gonna be fine. I promise." Jason wasn't going to let anything happen to any more of his family. Not if he could help it. He'd learnt his lesson. He was going to behave. He was going to behave and find out a way to get rid of it secretly. He would get rid of this thing, or outlast whatever plans it had for him. One way or another.

"Whatever," Damian sighed. Jason didn't blame him, he wasn't exactly one to be trusted when it came to saving the family. He was usually the one trying to destroy it. 

Dick joined them just as Jason plated up the last setting. The three of them managed to balance them all up to the library, Jason warning the family when they got in that if they spilled anything they were cleaning it up. Except if they were Alfred and in that case he could supervise and make sure they were doing it properly. 

Alfred was in just as foul a mood as he had been that morning. He ate his food, complimenting Jason, asking after the work he'd done, and that was as civil as he was. There was a thick tension in the air, one Jason was glad to escape when he'd finished eating. Unfortunately, Jason needed a babysitter and Dick was a peacemaker. He wasn't getting out of here any time soon, not unless Damian kicked the cat off his lap.

Jason honestly didn't think things could get worse, but the universe liked to prove him wrong. In this case, that wrong was Wally West, once again, zooming into Wayne Manor.

"B! It happened again." 

Jason was never getting out of here.

Alfred was under surveillance, Tim and Jason too, and since Dick was too busy squealing with Wally again in excitement he was stuck here for the rest of the night. 

Not that it wasn't somewhat fascinating. Between Alfred cozying up to him and the situation with Barry, Jason wasn't bored. He learnt a lot about the hidden snacks in the kitchen. The cookies Alfred hid so Dick wouldn't steal them all in one go. The special pastries Alfred still bought for Jason, that usually got eaten by Bruce when their sell by date came. He even learnt about the secret coffee stash. The one Alfred was keeping away from Tim for the kids health.

He also learnt a lot about the progress Bruce had made in the day and a bit between this and the last of Wally's visits. They'd started a wider search for multiverse activity and the result was, it wasn't multiverse activity. Jason felt a bit of satisfaction at that, sending a pointed look at Tim. Truthfully, they didn't know what it was. Future, past, Bruce was considering it all, starting the search in history to see if any sign of Barry had been recorded. 

Wally had some luck on his end as well, finally figuring out the correct speed it took to blur the lines and see Barry. "It's just before going into the speed force. Like, I'm almost breaching it but not. This time, I saw more of where he was. I was in Gotham this time, and so was Barry, he was running the streets, and when he spotted me, I was sure he was yelling for help."

"Gotham?" Bruce made sure.

Wally nodded. "Yeah, but it wasn't. It was grungier for one. Like I didn't even know Gotham could get..." He stopped himself from slandering Bruce's city more. "But, it looked like it was around this century. There were neon lights, people were on phones. I even saw someone at a Starbucks with one of those really frothy coffees."

"So he should be in the multiverse," Tim offered.

"We've already done a search on that route," Bruce waved off. 

"Doesn't mean it's not," Tim argued. "Maybe they're cloaking their activity or something. I mean, some kind of activity is registering on the computer."

"Some kind. Not multiverse. This, it doesn't feel like it's a parallel dimension."

"Well then maybe..." Wally trailed off, his eyes going misty, "No, he wouldn't."

"What?" Bruce pressed.

 Wally paced lightning fast a few times, muttering something quick under his breath. When he stopped, he looked more certain than he had looked in the past few months. "Okay, so, I probably should have mentioned this before, but I didn't think it was important and I honestly thought Barry wasn't as stupid to even try it."

"Wally," Bruce insisted.

Wally took a breath, "Okay, so before he left, we were talking. It was after we faced down Zoom again. He started going on about how he was happy I had come to live with him, and how he wished he had someone like that watching out for him when he grew up. He started talking about his mom, and- Bruce I think he went back in time to save her."

"Is that possible?" Tim asked.

Wally nodded, but his face was dark. "You would have to be an idiot to even try it though. I mean, changing a day you've just lived is bad enough, but a whole lifetime is unthinkable. Timelines aren't meant to be messed with. The universe just," He made a motion with his hands like a wave smashing into itself, "It's not pretty. I mean, people could never be born, lives taking a different path. You name it. Barry would have had to have been desperate if he wanted to even attempt it."

"Everyone's desperate when it comes to their parents," Dick said, reading Wally like a book. After all, if Barry went back to save his mom, risking all of this just for her, he must not have been satisfied with his life. With Wally and Bart. With Iris and the future they could have had. "If there was even a chance Wally, I know I would take it. I mean, I love you guys, but, they're my parents, you know."

Wally shrugged, his childhoods more like Jason's than Dick's in the parenting aspect. Really, the only people in this room Jason could say who had a happy childhood until it all went screwy were Alfred, Bruce and Dick. The rest of them really got the short end of life's stick. 

"So, what are we talking about here? I mean, if Barry is in this alternate timeline, then surely we must be in it now too?" Tim said.

Wally rubbed his neck, "Not exactly. Look, I've only travelled in time once so I only know what happened then. But Barry explained it like, when you change something, there are two different worlds. Kind of like a parallel world. But, over time, as the world starts becoming more solid and the timeline more secure, the two worlds start merging until only one timeline is left. The one Barry's living."

"That would explain the blips," Bruce said.

"It would explain the sightings too." Wally sighed, "Look, I don't know how much longer we have left before we merge, but if Barry is calling out for help then this is a timeline we don't want to live."

"So, we right things," Bruce suggested. "We go back and-"

"Can't," Wally said. "It has to be Barry. If we interfere then that's already happened, we've already went back and Barry is still stuck. He has to go back himself and he has to be the one to right it."

"So, why hasn't he?" Tim asked.

Wally shrugged. "Maybe he's just realised he needs to get back here. Or..."

"Maybe he's lost his speed," Bruce finished. That was the more realistic answer, and the worst one that could happen. If Barry didn't have his speed he couldn't get back here. If he couldn't get back here then they would all be merging into their alter selves.

Jason kind of hoped he had a good life there. Maybe some kind of rich playboy, the real kind and not just a part Bruce had him play the odd times he was invited to a gala. Hell, Jason would even take a mechanic so long as he was happy and hadn't died.

"So, what can we do?" Bruce asked after a while.

Wally sighed again, the hope he had gone now they had an idea what was going on. "Honestly, nothing. If Barry's in Gotham then he's probably looking for Bruce, other Bruce, to help him get his speed back. We just need to hope Barry can succeed and change the timeline back before it's too late."

Wally hung around for a while. The news of where Barry was hit him hard, and really there was no better place to hang out when someone found out they were abandoned than in a room full of orphans.

Jason was practically seeing the adoption papers flying through his mind as Bruce grabbed as many cookies he knew about in the kitchen to give to their guest. Surprisingly, Bruce didn't ask Wally to stay as Jason thought he would. 

"We've had too many accidents," Bruce said. 

Wally took one look at Tim, Jason and Alfred all on bed rest and agreed it was probably safer in Central City with Bart. Really, compared to Gotham, it was always safer in Central City.

When Wally left, whatever peace, small as it was, that had descended over the manor was gone. Especially because Bruce refused to let Alfred sleep in his own rooms.Three long, heated debates later and Jason was helping Bruce and Dick move another bed into the master bedroom. 

"If we're picking sides, I wanna live with Alfred after the divorce," Jason said.

"You can't do that," Dick whined, "With you and Alfred gone, who's gonna feed me? I can't live off takeaways Jay, I just can't."

"Take a cooking class then," Jason suggested. "Or, get Damian to make you something." 

A gleam came into Dick's eye, "Damian huh?" He sent Bruce a smug look, "Looks like Damian skipped out on one of your genes then."

"Ha ha," Bruce intoned. "And if I ever get a divorce from Alfred, you're all staying with me. He made that very clear the first night Dick stayed with us."

Jason snorted, "Yeah, but that was then. You've had like, ten more kids since then, and Alfred likes me better than Dick."

He got a shove from Dick, a light one so Jason wasn't too hurt but Jason didn't extend the same courtesy as he tackled Dick to the newly moved bed.

They wrestled until Bruce told them to wash up for bed, like they really were kids again. 

Alfred gave them the silent treatment as they all climbed into bed. The scuffle tonight wasn't as fun as it was the night before, everyone too tired and too worried about what had happened, what they had just learned, to find any fun in the dark right now.

Jason didn't bother trying to put up a front tonight. He didn't even fight the brat for a space next to Bruce, he just buckled down in the middle of his family and prayed that tonight nothing bad would happen. He didn't fight it when the brat wrapped his little hands around Jason's shirt in his sleep. He wished he could sleep as easily as Damian. All it took was some grim determination and a lifetime of horrors to soothe Damian into forcing himself to get a good seven hours a night.

He felt the pull of sleep. His eyes were closing and Jason must have dropped off because when he opened his eyes he wasn't in the middle of his family anymore.

He thought he was in a dream. Maybe one the demon had created, but he was freezing to the bone and there was no Dick in sight. His feet were wet, the puddle he was standing in soaking through his socks as Jason stared sleep stupid up at a structure he was sure he had seen before. 

It took a while for his brain to compute. For it to recognise he was standing in front of a church. The question on how he got here played on his mind even as his feet began moving him forward. He felt compelled, like someone else was controlling him. The air around him was fizzling, blurring, the stones becoming bloodied and in some cases vomit drenched. It looked more like a fortress than a church, and still his feet urged him forwards. 

The church was somehow colder than outside, the stone walls keeping the freezing air trapped as Jason wove his way through pews. In his vision, some of them were standing one moment and tossed over the next. Some pushed to the back, with toys littering the floor in front. The only pews still standing straight were those at the front. 

Jason kept going, past the confessional, the alter, all the way to the door at the back. He slipped through, sure any moment a priest was going to come out and hit him over the head for trespassing- it wouldn't be the first time. 

He kept going until he got to a mirror, there he took a second look, his body going back like he wasn't controlling it. He didn't expect the face that looked back. It was his own, similar in any way apart from the white stripe that Jason had dyed out only a few weeks ago. He felt his hand lift to it, the man in the mirror plucking at the strands and fingering the dark circles that were absent on his mirrors face.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Jason stopped fussing with his hair, journeying back through the hallways until he got to his bible. He was thinking of doing a piece on forgiveness this Sunday. People in Gotham really needed to listen to that one again. Like, seriously. He didn't know how many times he had passed kids in the pews fighting over toys, holding grudges like they were ancient warlords rather than children, and that was the children. The adults were even worse. He'd passed a butchers the other day that refused to serve a man purely because his second cousin had broke the butcher's heart. Forgiveness cost nothing, and Jason, quite frankly, got sick of living in a world that didn't understand that.

There were more than a few stories he could use, but Jason kind of wanted to aim his teachings to the younger generation. They were the impressionable ones. They would be the ones who would go away from his sermon thinking, soaking in the words, and, hopefully, applying it. 

He flipped to the New Testament, grabbing his notebook, or would have if he didn't spot the bruises on his wrists. Those hadn't been there before. 

His hand shook as he lifted it closer. He recognised those marks, those fingers. 

"Demon!" He clung to his rosary. He knew it would do no good, but there was solace in the beads. God was with him, He would give Jason the strength to send the demon away. "And there was me thinking you'd got bored."

The room in front of him remained silent, not a whisper disturbed. Jason didn't let his guard down. This had happened before, the demon liking to mess with him. It would ignore him, it had already got Jason's attention after all with the marks on his wrist. It would leave Jason to stew, to worry, and then attack him when he was least expecting it. 

He still had the scars from last time. 

"Alright, have it your way." He went back to his seat, he could play this game. He had managed to drive the demon away once, even if it was only for a few months, he was sure he could do it again. Thing was, Jason didn't know what he'd done last time to actually ward it off. 

He sighed, fingering the bruises lightly as he turned to the right passage. They seemed a bit odd. Well, as odd as bruises could get. Usually Dick liked to make him feel the pain. The demon couldn't hurt him any other way. Jason had no family left, no pets after it had murdered the doves and dog he kept in the parish. He had no one except his parishioners, and they had long struck a deal regarding them. Especially after what happened to Tim. Jason still couldn't forgive himself for that. 

These however, these bruises, they didn't hurt all that much. They didn't feel like the demon had just burnt him, like it had clung onto him. Usually, when it left reminders for Jason he made sure Jason knew they were being made. He felt every invisible finger carving into his flesh, every whispered palm clutching his skin. He felt it all because it was the only kind of contact the demon was going to get off him. Yet these bruises felt days old at the very least. 

Maybe the demon was just reiterating his claim without being particularly cruel. It wouldn't be the first time. Tim came to mind again. 

Something clattered, a mug broke and Jason reared up out of his chair again just as a priest rounded the corner. 

"What the-?" 

Jason would have been amused to hear the rest of that sentence. Would have been, right now, he was trying to work out what the hell was going on himself.

The priest lowered the book he had in his other hand when Jason didn't move to attack. As much as he probably would have wanted to cast Jason out, something told him that the guy wouldn't. Or, maybe couldn't was a more accurate statement. Something about not sending away those in need or whatever.

"Can I help you with something?" The priest asked after a while.

"I-" Jason cleared his throat, back-pedalling through the weird five minutes he'd just had to remember waking up in front of the church. "I think I've been sleepwalking."

The priest narrowed his eyes, his head tilting to take in Jason's, no doubt, dishevelled appearance. It looked like he'd passed some kind of test since any lasting animosity and suspicion the priest had died. It didn't take much for Jason to be changed out of his soaking socks and a blanket put over his shoulders. A nice cup of cocoa was put in his hands as the priest came back with a phone. 

"Do you have someone to get you?"

Jason nodded, taking the phone and hoping someone was awake or close to their phone to pick up. 

It took three attempts and the priest looking more sorry for him than Jason liked before someone picked up.

"What?" Damian grumbled into the speaker.

Jason stopped himself from teaching the kid some manners, knowing he was one more failed phone call away from the priest taking him to the GCPD and letting them handle him. "It's me. Is Bruce there?"

There was some shuffling, a small sound from Damian that reminded Jason more of a wary cat before he was back on the line, "Where are you? How did you get out?"

"Not important. Get Bruce. I need to be picked up," He hissed, smiling over at the priest. 

"Picked up?" There was more shuffling and a definite bear sound that had to be Bruce waking up. 

"What?" Bruce asked, the voice barely legible through the phone.

"Todd's gone."

"What!" There must have been some signal or Bruce guessing someone, probably Barbara, was on the other side since the phone was passed over, Damian protesting slightly and more grumbling from other people waking up as Bruce barked, "Where?"

"The old church, erm, I don't know where," the priest rattled off an address, relief on his face as Jason repeated it. God, he wasn't that bad. "Look, can you just come quickly. Please?"

"Jay..." the dial tone started, Jason handing the phone back.

"He'll be a few minutes."

The priest nodded. Jason drank his cocoa.

Bruce, when he came, was like a bat out of hell. He burst in, looking like he expected some kind of hostage situation or escaped villain of the week as he whipped his head around looking for Jason. He spotted him and the priest, the two of them sitting civilly at the table, and promptly deflated, a look Jason would describe as sheepish coming over his face as he started on his apologies to the priest. 

Jason didn't wait for Bruce to finish, tossing the blanket back, he said his thank you's and scuttled out to the car. He rolled his eyes before he even slid in. It looked like the only way Bruce could get here right away was to bring Damian with him. The kid had a sword strapped to his side, his eyes still alert as he waited for Bruce to pile in with them.

"What's the situation?" Damian asked.

"No situation," Jason defused. 

Damian glared back, his hand on his sword tightening until Bruce, finally, managed to pry himself away from the church. The door slammed louder than it should, irritation in every line of Bruce's body as he started the car up. Jason sat back, figuring it was best to say nothing until they got back to the manor. 

The others were awake when they got back. Jason just had time to peel out of his wet clothes before he was bombarded with siblings asking him questions, and in Dick's case looking him over like a warrant chick.

"I'm fine," Jason hissed. 

He tried to go to the bed, but Bruce caught him before he could, his fingers twice as rough as Dick's as he turned Jason this or that way to make sure he was fine. "What the hell was that?" Bruce bit out eventually.

Jason huffed, "Would you believe me if I said I don't know?"

"Jason," and wow, Bruce wasn't kidding around tonight.

"Look, I don't know. I went to sleep, and then I just woke up in front of the church." Which, was the truth, no matter how much Bruce wanted to believe otherwise. "Really, that's what happened. I swear. I don't even know myself how I got there."

Bruce scrubbed his face, frustration radiating off him as he felt the truth in Jason's words. "You swear?"

"I swear."

"That was a long way to walk Jay," Dick said.

"You don't think I know that?"

Dick saw how much this was freaking him out, how much Jason was scared of what was happening to him since he didn't say anything more. Instead, he went over to Bruce, the two of them having a short, hissed conversation before Bruce visibly tried to calm himself down. When he didn't look like he was about to hit whatever got in his way he went back to Jason. "What happened when you woke up?"

"When I-?" A strange question. Or, maybe not that strange. There had been that weird moment. The one where he had been himself but, he hadn't been. Looking back, it felt more like a dream than anything else, but it felt real too. Natural. The thoughts had all been his, the life too normal to be that of a dream. One of Jason's dreams anyway. He looked at Bruce, reading something more than just the terror of waking to find Jason gone in his eyes. Something else had happened. "I was in front of the church. My socks were wet and, I don't know, I just started walking in. The pews were all different, not how they should have been." Like two different images overlapping each other Jason remembered. "And then I walked to the back, where the priests quarters are." Although how Jason knew that was where the priests lived was beyond him. He'd only been inside a church twice in his life. The first time had been for his mother's funeral, and the second he hadn't even been alive. "I went up and then I got a bible, no, wait, I stopped. I was at a mirror and I was thinking about my death." The face in the mirror that had been his but wasn't. The one that was thankful for the white stripe, the proof of God's power and that he had chosen Jason to come back. "My hair hadn't been dyed. It was kind of weird. And then I went to get the bible and-" the demon. 

His dream, whatever, had known about the demon. Much more than Jason knew. He could tell, he could feel it somehow. This thing he'd been had interacted with the demon. He called it Dick. He had known about the bruises it left, the punishments for misbehaving. He had been fighting the demon, and he had maybe won.

"And...?" Bruce prompted.

"And then the priest walked in and I suddenly realised I'd broken into a church."

Bruce grumbled, pulling his phone out. "And you're sure that's all. Nothing else?"

Jason shook his head. He had promised not to tell and he wouldn't. He would behave. He had things to lose after all, not like that other guy. "Why?"

"There was another blip," He showed Jason the phone, the screen showing a map of Gotham and little blinking lights where, he guessed, the other timeline had tried to merge tonight. Jason saw the church labelled as one of those places. 

"You think I was there?"

"Did it feel like you were?"

Jason nodded. It did. It was him. That other guy, that other way of thinking, was him in another timeline. 

"The timeline must have felt you, maybe dragged you to the church to try and merge. If your other self was there he would be the dominant of the two. I need to look this up," Bruce told the rest of them, eyes landing on Dick, "Keep an eye on Jason."

"You got it."

Jason felt like he was never going to sleep again. He had almost been erased. Everything he was, everything he'd went through had almost gone away. He knew this other guy was him too, but he wasn't the Red Hood, he wasn't this Jason, him Jason, he was another Jason with another life.

The worst thing was, he kind of wanted it to erase him. That other Jason, he had a good life. A weird, saintly life sure, but he didn't feel like he had issues upon issues weighing him down. He didn't have to worry about safe houses or people he didn't save. He didn't have to worry about patrol, and villains, he just had to worry about the kids he looked after and his parishioners. A simpler life for a simpler Jason.

"Jay?" Dick sat next to him, running his fingers through Jason's hair. "It was just bad luck it was you."

"Yeah," he laughed. "But it's always me," because even in this other life there was still a demon to haunt him.

The timeline thing really spooked more than just Jason. He could see as the hours wore on and Dick didn't tire taking advantage of Jason's vulnerability for a hug that the others were still far from sleep too. Even Alfred, who insisted that he get at least six hours a night minimum for himself was sitting up, and with a little coercion from Dick read them all a book Tim fetched from the library.

They didn't want to go to sleep and wake up someone else. They didn't want to sleep period, which meant, that when morning came they were all awake before seven. A record if Alfred was to be believed. 

Since Bruce wasn't around Alfred was able to manipulate Dick and Jason to help him down to the kitchen. Jason didn't let him cook, but Alfred had got his victory and amused himself with making sure Jason had everything up to his standard for breakfast. He was harder on Dick than Jason, which amused Jason to no end. Where Alfred would leave Jason alone when he was making blueberry pancakes, he was scrutinising every move Dick made, Jason knowing from experience it was the only way that things would come out edible.

Breakfast was a quiet affair even with Alfred's corrections. There was no fighting, no name calling. Silence reigned over most of their meal, only broken here and there with someone asking for syrup or another glass of orange.

"Should we take Bruce's down?" Dick asked as they were cleaning up.

Jason would have said yes. But with the new protocols of the manor and Alfred needing supervision he figured sending someone alone wouldn't be a good idea. "We'll leave something out. If Bruce is hungry enough, he'll come out of his hole and eat."

"You would make a mean housewife," Dick said, trying for humour. 

It worked, Jason snorting as he finished wiping down the last plate. "You have no idea."

They retreated to the sun room for today's day of boredom. Jason wanted to get started on the manor again, but Alfred insisted it could wait, preferring instead to keep Jason close.

The six of them dug out old board games that hadn't been played since Dick was a kid. Dick, naturally, loved each and every one they unearthed, telling them stories of rainy days where Bruce still had a fun side and actually enjoyed playing games. 

Twister got most of their attention, especially when Dick presented it as a test of flexibility and durability. Something Damian latched on to and declared he would be the best at. Tim and Cass only agreed because they knew it was actually a fun game. Jason on the other hand, decided to sit it out and help Alfred out with the spinner. 

Thing was with bat kids Twister which usually ended after a few minutes of laughing and taunts actually lasted much longer. Dick and Damian had the flexibility to twist around their other siblings with ease, and despite how many times Tim got leaned on or almost forced to the ground he had strength of will. He wasn't going down without a fight. Cass, well, she had the whole package, so it wasn't like she would be the first to go down. 

Jason was torn between watching this soon to be battle royal or catching a quick cat nap. No matter how much he was afraid he would wake up somewhere he shouldn't be, he was freaking sleep deprived and still running on fumes from the last few sleepless nights he'd had. 

He was drifting next to Alfred's chair when last night came to him again. The other him. The other him that was haunted by the demon too. No, wait, he wasn't.

In the blip, his other self had said 'And there was me thinking you'd got bored.' He hadn't seen the demon in months. He thought he'd gotten rid of it. That meant that this thing, this demon, it had been haunting the other him before haunting him now. It had somehow crossed the blip into the first timeline. 

This, wow, this made some sense. 

If this demon was from the second timeline then it meant things that would work in this timeline might not work there. Or vice versa. The summoning circle. Who was to say it wouldn't work in this other timeline. If that were the case then the demon had been right when he said things in this world couldn't contain him. But things in this other world, this other timeline might. 

The priest, for all his bible and hope in God, would only think that strength of will would keep the demon away. He wouldn't look into the occult. He wouldn't know that magic could help him. Or maybe that it existed at all, after all, magic and demons didn't necessarily go hand in hand. So, there could be a way to get rid of this thing. 

Only problem was, he didn't have a way to communicate with his other self. Or, he might not. There could be a way, but Jason wasn't sure it would work. Or that he would get away with it. 

He thought about it for the rest of the day. Weighing the risks and probability that it would work until Bruce came to find them. Bruce had ordered in, something Alfred scowled at but ate nonetheless when it was passed around to him. Dinner was just as quiet as breakfast with Bruce there. His mood seemed to bring back memories of things no one wanted to think about now nightfall was coming again. Especially when he told them that he was benching Tim again. The kid had been angry before that he wasn't allowed to go out, now, he just looked scared. One more hour at the manor meant one more hour of going to sleep, of finding himself in this other life. Tim's life was bad enough, he probably didn't even want to know what his other one was like, and, truthfully, Jason thought he probably shouldn't know either. If the demon and other him were to be believed, Tim didn't have it so easy over there. 

Seven came with Dick, Cass and Damian all heading down to the cave to suit up. Since Jason had done another walkabout he wasn't allowed to even think of asking to go with them, so he shut up and hid himself by Alfred instead. Let Bruce have Tim. 

It was probably a wise decision since another night of not being on the streets and feeling helpless in his own home meant that Bruce was just as angsty if not more than Tim right now. He was sullen, unapproachable, and when Tim managed to sneak his tablet from who knew where Bruce and him holed themselves in front of it for another night on the sidelines. 

Alfred must have been feeling the boredom too since Jason's evening before bed consisted on Alfred trying to teach him some tricks 'Master Bruce' thought he was above. Like pick pocketing, and not the wimpy kind they taught on the streets. When Alfred said pick pocketing he meant stealing or replacing some expensive item that would surely be missed if not done correctly. Fascinating, and yet another reason why Jason wondered how Tim could choose his tablet over Alfred and his life of experiences.

Bruce seemed to be putting off going to bed since he managed to make them stay up until one in the morning before Alfred pointedly reminded Bruce that he wasn't the only one being kept up. Bruce grumbled like a teenager but helped Jason get Alfred ready for bed anyway.

He was going to turn in himself when the perfect opportunity arose. Bruce was busy cleaning Tim's chest, the kid trying to keep his mind off it by listening to Alfred bitch at Bruce. No one was paying attention to him, so Jason quickly slipped out of the room and ran to Dick's. 

His phone was where it always was, right on top of the pillow. He never took it down to the cave in case one of his little brothers decided to hack it. Jason didn't know if that was a porn reason or someone new he was dating reason but Dick liked to keep his phone in his room when he went out as Nightwing. Somewhere that was labelled as private and if broken Dick would know and his trust would be gone. Stuff that would have Jason backing away if he was five years younger and not desperate.

Wally's number was easy to find, and after a few false starts Jason managed to get his message across. Make contact with Barry. Tell him to find Father Todd. The priest needs to look into demon lore. Wally was as curious as anyone would be in that situation, but Jason was hoping trust would win out as he locked the phone back up and slipped back into Bruce's room.

With no Damian and friends to kick them about Jason enjoyed his new found space in Bruce's bed by spreading out as much as he could. So much so that he even managed to push Bruce a little more into Tim's territory than he should have. Still, the kid should have seen it coming. 

"Bruce," Tim whined, pushing at the bulk threatening to squash him. "Tell him to move along."

"But-" and Bruce actually sounded quite hesitant as he made a few gestures.

"Are you kidding me?" 

"Tim, just go with it," Bruce begged. Jason pushed a bit more, hearing one of Tim's legs fall out the bed. 

"He's taking up all the room."

"And when you're ill you can take up all the room," Jason harrumphed. 

Tim sat up, looming over Bruce to point a finger at him, "You're not ill. You haven't had an episode in two days. Go home."

Jason wished he could. But he couldn't, so he put his hands behind his head instead and asked, "You gonna let him talk to me like that Bruce?"

Bruce sent him a warning look, but still turned to Tim to say, "This is his home Tim. And just because he hasn't fallen back into his fever does not mean Jason's out of the woods yet. Just, let him have this."

"Oh my God," Tim near screeched, flopping back. "This is ridiculous."

"This is having an older brother," Jason sent back. "Trust me when I say Dick's gone far too easy on you all these years."

Tim snorted, "Like you would know what Dick's been like. You're never here."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Yours," Tim screeched again.

"Agree to disagree," Jason said, expecting the lunge when it came. 

Thankfully, Bruce caught Tim mid leap and set him down before any damage could be done. Unfortunately, that place Tim was set down was right in the middle of Bruce and Jason. "It's late, I'm tired, you two behave and sleep or so help me I'll..." He could see Bruce struggling for a punishment fit for the both of them. It wasn't like he could ground Jason any more, and banning him from anywhere in this manor was like giving himself a death sentence. They needed Jason here and Bruce knew it. He had no power. So Bruce just flopped back, crossing his arms like he hoped the unfinished threat alone would have them behaving. 

It didn't. Two mini fights broke out before Bruce barricaded himself between them again and smushed Tim to the mattress to stop any more fighting. Jason sent his little brother little grins that had the kid hissing fits until Bruce started flicking Jason in the nose every time he did it. 

It wasn't long after that Jason gave up and tried to get some real rest. He was tired after all.

Unfortunately, the world wasn't listening to him tonight. No sooner had he closed his eyes did he find himself being jumped on. He expected Dick when he saw him, the demon grinning down at him and making motions to the bathroom. 

Jason didn't fight him. He couldn't. He didn't know if the demon had figured out he had a plan to get rid of him, if he had been watching him when he broke into Dick's phone and he couldn't let it know. He couldn't give it reason to watch him when it wasn't feeding. So Jason followed when the demon led. 

Dick had the courtesy to lock the door before approaching Jason, giving him at least some privacy from his family. Small blessings. "So Jay, you learnt your lesson?"

"Yes."

Dick pouted, "Shame, I was quite looking forward to teaching you another." He shrugged, "Well, since you're on board tonight, lets get to the good stuff. Have to say, I haven't been with a human so aware in a while. This is going to be quite the experience for me."

"Joy," Jason huffed.

Dick rolled his eyes, "Don't be like that." He clapped his hands, "So, any ideas? Preferences? What would you do if I was... lesser me?"

There was something off about Dick tonight. It wasn't the whole demon thing either. This was another thing. Jason couldn't put his finger on it. "For one I wouldn't be doing this."

Dick huffed, "Come on, play nice."

Jason didn't think he could. Not when the thing in front of him just wasn't Dick. "Okay, listen. I don't care that you're using me, I don't care that you're probably lying about the whole tiredness thing. But if you expect me to play nice while looking like my brother, you can forget it."

The demon sniggered as it asked, "Then what do you suggest?"

"If you're a demon, look like one."

Dick looked surprised but his wings unfolded and eyes glowed anyway. It hit Jason as Dick crowded close what was so weird. The eyes, the wings, they were both kind of faint, like they were struggling to stay. But when a wing touched Jason, its inhumanly soft feathers stroking against his face, they were as real as they had been last time. 

"What do you want a demon to do to you Jay?"

Jason swallowed thickly. A demon it was, but it was still in Dick's form, still gorgeous. "Whatever makes you go away the fastest."

The demon smiled and in one swift move had Jason turned so his back was to Dick's chest. His underwear was tugged to the floor, the demon grabbing Jason's hips and pulling back until his skin met Dick's. It was similar to that time in Jason's bathroom. So similar as the demon started tugging on Jason's cock. Yet the wings cradling him were new, as was the chin on his shoulder. 

It wasn't difficult to get him hard. This was some sort of Dick that was behind him after all. One that wanted him, one that was touching him. Jason couldn't help but rock back because in another timeline this probably was Dick. Other him had called him Dick, the demon itself had admitted the human him was a pale imitation. In another timeline, Dick was a demon, and he wanted Jason. As sick as it was, his brain couldn't help but latch onto that because in another timeline he was worthy enough to catch Dick Grayson's eye.

"Why do you call him brother?" Dick mumbled, nipping at his collarbone as his hand sped up his strokes. "I mean, you're not really related. And if he was your brother," another nip as his other hand went around Jason's hip to his ass, "You wouldn't want him doing this to you."

Fingers teased his cleft, dipping in further and further until it was rubbing against his hole.

"Is it a kink?"

A finger pressed in slightly, mocking what another part of Dick's body could be doing if Jason asked.

"No, I think it's something else. It's what he sees you as isn't it? His little brother. That's all you are to him."

Two of them pressed gently this time, spreading his hole as Dick twisted the head of his cock.

"That's all you think of yourself to him. His little brother."

Jason tossed his head back, leaning most of his weight on the body behind him. One of Dick's finger slid in further than either of them planned, the stretch dry but good as the demon twisted it back out. He brought it back around front, rolling Jason's balls around and stretching the skin. He tightened his hand on Jason's cock, Dick's front moulding itself to Jason's back so he could guide his body through his fist. The heat from the back and grip at the front had Jason on the edge pretty fast. 

He turned his head, breathing in the same smell both Dick's had, that air of flying that left itself on their skin. His eye caught something just as Dick gave a rather forceful thrust, the edge of a cock Jason wasn't sure the demon had brushing against his hole. 

He came in messy streaks, Dick cooing behind him even as he kept thrusting. Jason felt his legs go under him, tiredness setting in, yet Dick wasn't done yet. This was new, as Jason lay, the demon climbed back into position, soft little whines escaping its throat as hands pinned themselves to Jason's shoulders. Never before had the demon showed any interest in anything other than getting Jason off, yet there it was, dry humping his ass. If Jason wasn't fading, he would have tried to commit the sensations to memory. Demon or not, Jason needed material to get off too.

As it was, all he could do was lay there and try not to pass out. He needed to get back to bed after all. If he didn't, it would just be worse in the morning when they couldn't wake him. 

One of Dick's hands came next to his face as the little whimpers increased. Jason blinked at it, and blinked again, his brain trying to wrap itself around the skin he was seeing. It wasn't clear like it had been last time. Instead, there were scars, small, lines zigzagging to his fingers and palms. The same one other Dick had. 

Darkness overcast him for a moment as the demon's long wings curled around him, straining slightly where they stayed as Dick let out one more whimper and stilled.

The light came back as the demon climbed over him, panting slightly, laughing a little either in some kind of mirth. Jason tried to move, but there was still a weight on his back, one that was slowly inching forward until it was covering Jason entirely. 

The hand next to his face hadn't moved, but when Jason looked he could spot the demon a few feet away, its devilish grin increasing as the wet streaks disappeared in the bathroom. 

"That was unusual," it said, dipping over to plant a kiss on Jason's cheek. "But not bad." It disappeared, and still there was a weight on Jason's back.

He could hear them panting in his ear, the hand on his shoulder clenching as soft hair brushed against his back. Jason tried not to but he really was more than tired now, and sleep was so close. The floor, while not his first choice, was growing more and more agreeable the longer he lay there. Too agreeable, and since the weight on top of him wasn't moving, Jason blamed them for his eyes closing.

"What was that?" Was the last thing Jason heard before he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the thing, I have essays I need to write and I don't know how long they're going to take. I'm not giving up on this story but you might not get an update for like one to two weeks. I really got to get these done.  
> Thank you everyone who reads this story by the way. It was originally meant to be a short piece, but it seems I can't write short pieces so, there's that. Anyway, I hope you'll like what's coming next when it's uploaded. Thanks for reading.


	11. Chapter 11

Jason woke to sobbing. It was faint, and familiar. He only managed to figure out who it was when they let out a rather unattractive snort. That was Dick alright. 

His eyes felt heavy, but at least they opened for him when he tried. He'd been moved from the bathroom, a soft mattress under his cheek as a little foot blocked off the rest of Bruce's bedroom.

"Dam-an?" 

The foot was replaced with a head, the kid squinting at him before saying, "He's awake father."

Strong hands lifted him into a seating position, Jason gathering the last resources of his strength to lift his head. The room was a mess. Dick had holed himself up near the window, his knees drawn to his chest and face red from the tears still going strong. Alfred had somehow managed to make his way next to Dick, whispering something as his eyes stayed on Jason. Tim and Damian had taken sentry posts next to Jason, Bruce sitting himself in front as he started taking Jason's temperature. The covers were half way across the room, the door broken in, and when Jason checked, he spotted blood leading to where Dick was sitting.

"Where's Cass?" Jason asked, the only one absent from this image.

"I sent her away. She's staying with Barbara." Bruce sent pointed looks to Tim and Damian, both of them huffing and glaring right back at him.

"We are under attack father. I am not leaving," Damian said.

"Another night like last night and I'm not giving you a choice this time. Either of you," Bruce said before Tim could start his own argument.

"Surprised you got Cass to leave," Jason mumbled, his voice wasn't working properly yet. His limbs weren't too, but, strangely, he didn't feel as bad as he did the last time the demon had fed from him. He felt more like his body was waking up rather than ready to slip back into oblivion. Maybe the demon had been telling the truth.

"She wanted to keep out of this," Bruce said.

"She's terrified," Tim corrected. "She said she didn't wantto chance anymore hotspots like last night so her and Barbara are staying with Dinah in Star for a while."

"Hotspots?" He was missing something here. He was missing a lot he corrected as he spied the blood again. "What happened?"

"You do not remember?" Damian asked.

"Er." He remembered the demon. He remembered passing out. "No."

Damian eyed him funny before slipping off the bed and toddling over to Dick. It was a strange interaction, Damian saying something, his hand reaching out, almost touching before Dick pushed him away. Literally pushed him away. The kid fell on his ass and everything as Dick ran bloodied knuckles over his face again and hid back between his knees. 

Damian, spurned, retreated back onto the bed, for the first time in ever really almost curling up next to Jason. He would have called it a hug if Damian actually gave them. 

Jason turned back to Bruce, "Wanna fill me in before I freak out?"

Bruce looked like he would have liked to say no. But something bad had happened, and as much as Jason would have liked to be looking at Bruce Wayne, dad, he knew he was witnessing the Bat instead. Why else would Bruce power through his want to protect to tell Jason, "Dick said he raped you."

Just looking at Bruce Jason could tell he didn't want to believe it. He had probably been coming up with scenarios all morning that made Dick out to be innocent. No doubt he had been asking Dick, prying for more information until Dick probably broke down or Jason woke up. He didn't recall any shouting when he woke.

"Dick?" Jason made sure.

Bruce deflated, relief shining through as he went on, "He came out of the bathroom raving about touching you inappropriately. I was inclined to believe him, but there's no evidence of... release, anywhere Dick said there would be."

There wouldn't be, Jason knew. The demon seemed to magically clean it up. Eat it was more accurate, but the images that brought up definitely didn't want to be pondered while Bruce was present.

"Dick?" Jason asked again.

Bruce nodded, every time Jason asking a bit more surety in his oldests innocence being reaffirmed. "I think he's a bit confused. He's running a bit hot. Just like you Jay," and that had Bruce back in his mood. Of course it would, Jason had been recovering after all. Almost past the three day mark and ready to be released, and now, not only had he relapsed, but he'd spread his germs to Dick. "I'm sorry Jaybird, but, this is more than once. I don't think I can ignore this anymore."

"No," Jason whined, meaning it to come out more demanding. "No, I am not going."

"They can help."

"They'll give me something to take, and you know I won't. It's pointless." He was not going to the doctors. It wasn't like he was actually sick. He knew what was wrong, hell, he wasn't even that lethargic anymore. He was pretty sure that by noon he would be as fine as yesterday.

But, since Jason couldn't tell Bruce this without a whole horde of questions he couldn't answer, and this thing seemed to be spreading, Bruce wasn't hearing of it. He was organising a trip to Leslie just as he managed to take Dick's temperature.

"I'm not sick," Dick hissed, almost climbing Bruce for the phone. "I know what happened. Why aren't you listening?" 

Damian clung on a little tighter as Bruce fended Dick off. Jason could see why. Dick was wild. He looked clammy even from the bed, his eyes had dark circles under them and usually he would be able to get a few good punches in, but nos his movements were slow, lethargic, and getting worse the more he tried to fight. Jason had promised Dick would be fine. Looks like he'd failed there. 

Bruce ended the call, tossing the phone before it could be grabbed and lifted Dick with ease. With all that shouldering Jason's bulk around, Dick must have felt like Damian in comparison, even if he was flailing like an angry cat.

Bruce put him on the bed, Dick scrambling to the foot three times before giving up to wail in the middle. "You know what happened Bruce. You know it! I don't need a doctor I need the police."

"You're ill Dick," Bruce shot back, keeping the phone well out of reach as he helped Alfred over. "You're ill, and you're going to get help, and when you're better you'll thank me for having some faith in you."

"I raped him," echoed in the room. "Tell him Jason. Tell him what I did."

He stayed quiet, his mind piecing together what it had forgotten. Right at the end, just before he blacked out, there had been someone else there. Tim had mentioned hotspots, and the demon had been rather faint. The scars on his hand, the same ones Jason was looking at now clutching to Bruce's sweats. It hadn't just been the demon there last night.

"Jason tell him!"

Damian almost burrowed himself in Jason's side. Right now his whole world was falling apart. Either his darling big brother was a rapist, or he was sick, affected by whatever had gotten the rest of his siblings. With Cass now out of the picture it was only him and Bruce that were unaffected.

"Jason please," Dick sobbed. 

He stayed quiet long enough for Dick to give up. He tried on Bruce again, begging him to call the cops until Bruce locked them in. Wise considering Dick's state, by taking all the electronics with him it would take Dick a while to be able to break out and get to a device. Not so good for the rest of them. Jason was hungry, and he was sure the rest of them were too.

Dick tried picking the lock, but with his body recovering from the demon's influence his mind was probably in disarray too. Tim was the one who managed to drag Dick back to the bed, and not without a fight. Dick didn't want to be touched, he didn't want to be comforted or soothed because he thought he was guilty. Jason could see the way it was eating at him, Dick not trusting himself around his family. He'd went for one after all, who was to say Tim or Damian weren't next.

Dick ended up as far away as he could get, his eyes finally falling closed and breathing evening out as his body succumbed to Bruce's soft sheets. Alfred was careful tossing a blanket over him, the man taking Dick's knuckles in hand before ordering Tim to fetch supplies from the bathroom. 

The bleeding had stopped hours ago from the looks of things, the blood staining the carpet looking like it had been done early morning. The disinfectant still helped, so did the bandages, Alfred muttering something about cleaning the bathroom while Bruce was out as he finished tying the last knot.

"What happened last night?" Jason asked. He was curious to know. Yes, he had figured out some of it, and a lot of that he wasn't focusing on right now, but Damian looked more than scared because his brother was losing it.

"I wrote a report," Damian mumbled.

Jason looked around, "Do you see a computer anywhere?"

A little growl hit Jason's side, Damian shifting until he could be heard better but still remain close. "Oracle sent us to look into a Warehouse. There was supposed to be an arms deal. However, when we arrived the Warehouse appeared blurry. I suspected a gaseous narcotic and made a suitable retreat, but Grayson and Cain insisted the Warehouse needed to be investigated. I do not know what happened, father suspects hotspot activity from the alternate timeline, but Cain and Grayson were not themselves when they emerged. Grayson headed back to the manor, I made to follow, however Cain appeared to still wish to patrol. It was early and father said so long as I was not alone I did not have to return when Grayson did. I followed Cain and... she almost killed fourteen people last night. I looked when I came back but there was no redeemable motive I could find."

That definitely sounded like Jason's vision of other him. "What did you mean by Dick acting odd?"

Damian shrugged, "He appeared distant. Merely mentioned he was heading back. But, usually he attempts humour. Tries to coerce me into joining him on a fun excursion. Last night there was nothing."

That did sound a little strange.

 Damian turned his nose up at him, "What happened last night with you Todd? Father did say he caught you without underwear." 

Jason could read the unasked question. Did Dick do it? Jason hadn't exactly said no after all. He couldn't say yes either. Not to Damian, and not to Dick either because that last night hadn't been Dick. 

Tim seemed to catch on to something because he asked, "Was it the other him? The other timeline? Wally said Dick would be different. That we all would be. He could..."

"It wasn't," Jason snapped. He wouldn't have them thinking like this. Dick didn't deserve it. He was as much a victim last night as Jason, maybe even more so since Jason was consenting. "Look, if you must know, I went for a little poo last night and may have passed out. Happy?"

He could see Tim was, the idea that Jason had fallen off the toilet going into his blackmail material for the rest of their aquaintance. Like Jason had hoped. Even Damian let out a small snigger, the air lighter now Jason had dispelled any ideas.

They were trapped inside Bruce's bedroom for a good hour before the door was unlocked. Dick would be asleep for a while yet, especially if he had stayed awake since he was released from the demon. It made Bruce's job of getting Dick ready easier, and since Jason was able to walk now without the urge to collapse he had the two of them bundled into a car in under half an hour.

Tim was put in charge while Bruce was gone, Jason pitying Alfred and Damian as they drove off. But, on the plus side, Bruce let them stop for donuts, making Jason promise to not tell Alfred and make sure he left a few for Dick. He only made good on one of those. 

The clinic was just as bad as Jason feared. There were diseased people everywhere, and Jason thought if he wasn't sick going in he would be coming out. 

Bruce held Dick like he was nine years old again the whole two hours they waited to be seen. He kept checking on Jason's fever, enough times that when it actually came to their turn Jason was pretty sure Bruce was going to be asking for some kind of attachable thermometer.

Leslie started with Dick since he was the one conked out. Three booster shots Dick had missed and some rather thorough tests later Leslie moved on to Jason. He sat through them all, answering every question he could. Even the sexual activity one which made him wish to God Bruce hadn't insisted on staying. Leslie gave him a few side eyes when she caught a glance at his back, and a rather hard look at Bruce for his thighs before she went off to look over the results. 

"They're fine," she said at last. "Physically at least. I can't find a wheezy chest or sign of infection on any of them. It could still be the flu, a mild case, or even stress, but, honestly, they're fine."

Bruce sunk his head in his hands, "Of course they are," he grumbled. "Are you sure?" He asked, just in case.

"Very, and until you get a medical degree you can stop giving me that look." 

Jason had always liked Leslie. 

"Of course, Jason's missing some shots himself, but I'm sure we can sort that out today."

Well, he had liked Leslie. Right now it was touch and go.

"I think I'm good without them," Jason said. Which meant he was suitably pinned down and given them anyway.

Jason gave Bruce the silent treatment the whole ride back to the manor.

Tim and Damian had wrecked the kitchen. Jason couldn't even look at it. He just gathered supplies and left. They had wrecked the living room too, the two of them, plus Alfred taking refuge in the games room. It was a sight to see Alfred with a controller. His foot was laid up and he had one kid on either side. Jason saw Bruce do a double take, especially when he saw how well Damian and Tim were behaving.

"What happened downstairs?"

Alfred didn't even look up as he said, "A small scuffle over who got to help me upstairs. Nothing you can't clean up Master Bruce."

Jason stifled a small laugh when Bruce just walked away. He took Dick down to he cave with him, telling Jason to stay with Alfred which was exactly what Jason was going to do anyway, he wasn't going to stay with a man who made him get shots.

There was peace in the manor for a short while. About six hours actually. Broken only when Dick came stumbling up, Bruce not far behind him. Despite there being no immediate lunge for the phone Dick still looked like he was beating himself up. He stayed away from everyone, choosing to huddle in the armchair as Bruce said he was going out for Thai.

"Two take outs in two days. You know, if you want me to cook, you just have to ask," Jason said.

"Would you?" Bruce countered.

Jason thought of the bombsite that was now the kitchen. He would have to clean up, but he was sure he could whip something up before eight. "Give me Damian and we'll see what happens."

Damian practically preened when Bruce said yes. He sent a smug look over to Tim, some argument they had this morning settled as Bruce warned Damian to shout if Jason collapsed. 

Jason's mini chef made it so they had a vegetarian lasagne in half the time Jason thought they would. He didn't think he'd ever spent so much time with Damian as he had these past few days. He knew the kid was only sticking close by because Jason was next in line after Dick, but, it was kind of nice. Not to mention much easier than if it had been Dick or Tim in here with him instead. Tim wasn't as bad as Dick and Bruce in the cooking department, but Jason had tasted his concoctions and he couldn't say they were Alfred's standard either.

Dick still hadn't ran when they sat down for dinner. He was at the other end of the table, but he hadn't ran. Bruce must have talked to him. 

He could see everyone shooting Dick looks throughout the meal. He was usually the one that kept the conversation flowing. Quiet as he was, there was no inbetween for the three remaining brothers.

Bruce didn't exactly help things. He was too wired up, too ready to stop Dick if he tried something. It was possibly the worst dinner to date.

Afterwards, since everyone save Damian wad now benched, Bruce decided tonight was the perfect night for a movie. No one else agreed, but no one fought either when Bruce put a movie in.

Jason fell asleep before the credits rolled, waking when a hand clamped around his mouth. He shook it off, bolting away before he opened his eyes to see Dick. It was dark, they were in Bruce's room and Jason couldn't tell which Dick he was looking at.

He went for the door, Dick following until the two of them were in the hallway. A sharp light lit up Dick, the scar on his neck relaxing Jason even as the rest of him searched for a hidden audience.

"You scared the crap out of me Dick."

Dick kept his phone lit as he motioned to the door down the hall, the nursery Jason had confronted the demon in. He followed with only some hesitation, closing the door behind him when he was in.

Dick was still in the middle of the room, the window behind him open enough that Jason didn't need the phone to see Dick's scars by. "Don't lie," Dick warned. "I know what I did last night Jason."

He tried to play it off, scoffing, "Really Dick, this again?"

"Jason," Dick snapped, "I said I know. I remember and I'm not sick. Not like that anyway." Dick whined, high pitched reminding Jason briefly of last night. "I can see you remember it too. You're scared of me, you should be. I took advantage of you Jay and-"

He couldn't do this. It wasn't like Dick hadn't somewhat figured it out anyway, Jason thought as he crowded in close. "It wasn't you. Okay, it wasn't. You didn't take advantage of me, you know how I know that? Because you wouldn't. You didn't even hug me when I first came to the manor before asking me seven times. You wouldn't do this."

"But I did," Dick choked. "I did Jay."

"You didn't," Jason insisted. "Something else did, but not you. Never you Dick."

"I remember it," Dick whispered. "I remember all of it. I remember getting home and there was something else moving my feet. I thought about you, I was hungry and only you could make it better. And, then you were asleep and that just, it didn't matter. I remember thinking, wondering, whether it would be better to keep you still this time, in case you... in case you fought." Dick swallowed, Jason trying to hush him but something in Dick had always thought it was better to talk than keep silent. "The worst part was I couldn't help thinking that I liked it when you fought because it reminded me of him. Of you, but it wasn't you and then," Dick couldn't finish. He didn't have to, Jason knew what came next.

"Dick, listen, it's okay, it wasn't you."

"But I-"

"It wasn't you," Jason would repeat it for as many times as it took for Dick to understand. 

"But it was," Dick said, "It was me. That thing, it was just like you said, I was me but it wasn't me too. It's the other me. Oh God, what the hell am I?"

It was one thing to calm Dick down and another to confess. He could do one, but the other could very well spell a death wish for someone in the manor. "Look, it doesn't matter. Whatever happened last night won't happen again, not to you. You just have to hang on and Barry will fix all of this."

Dick nodded, he took a deep breath, and then another, the tears still falling as his phone lit up again. 

"Surprised Bruce let you have that," Jason said.

The ghost of a grin flashed over Dick's face, "I may have threatened him."

"You'll have to tell me with what. Can't tell you how many times I would have killed for a good bargaining chip."

Dick let out a shaky breath, "You're gonna have to keep wanting." 

Jason helped Dick sit, the two of them leaning against the wall as they calmed down. Dick still kept a wary distance, forgiveness a long road they'd barely journeyed down yet.

Dick's phone lit up again. He looked at it once before a thoughtful frown furrowed his brow. "How many times?"

"What?"

"How many times has that thing raped you Jay?" Dick asked again.

"It didn't-"

"Don't," Dick hissed, "Don't defend it. That's the first thing we learn Jay. We can't defend these monsters. So how many times has this happened? And don't say it was just last night." Dick checked his phone again, scrolling through, and Jason wished he could stop Dick in his tracks. This was dangerous. Far too dangerous. "Oh," Dick said, "Oh this makes sense." 

Jason got whacked in the chest, winded as Dick started grumbling, typing out a response.

 When he was finished, his eyes were hard, determined as he asked, "That breakfast, when you said I'd been to your apartment, you really weren't out of it, were you?"

"Shut up," Jason hissed.

"And all those times after, the marks on your thigh, your back. Tim, God you should hear what he has to say on Tim."

"Shut up," Jason snapped, wrapping his hands over Dick's mouth. "Shut up, you don't speak of it. You can't."

Dick clawed at Jason's wrists before he caught sight of the bruises, understanding dawning again. It made him slack, nodding his compliance as Jason took his hands away. 

'Can it hear us?' Dick signed.

Jason glared at him, "See us too you idiot."

Dick typed something on his phone, handing it to Jason when he was done, 'It's a demon, isn't it?'

Jason nodded.

Dick paled. "How? I mean, changing the timelines it should have altered my life a little, not this much." He frowned again, "How is it here as well? I mean this thing isn't merging. It's been here for months... oh." He smiled sheepishly at Jason.

"What?"

"It's just a theory," Dick warned. "But, you remember game night?" Jason did, they had all bailed on him for something bad related. "Well, remember the ouija?"

He got where this was going, "You idiots."

"We didn't think it would work. I mean, it doesn't for other people."

"When have we ever been other people?"

Dick avoided his eye. "It's been here for months and we didn't know. It killed Titus didn't it? And Alfred's leg. Tim. You. I've caused so much havoc."

"It wasn't you," Jason said. Dick needed to get that into his head.

"It's almost me. And it will be if this timeline thing doesn't get fixed." He freaked out for a little longer, the pity party something Jason couldn't amend before he did what they all did in a crisis and let their training take over. Dick took a deep breath. "Okay. We need a plan."

"What?" This was sounding too familiar.

"We need a plan. I don't care what kind of deal you have going on, you are not being taken advantage of again. I won't let it. So, we need to go to the library, dig up-"

"Won't work," Jason said. "It won't work. This thing doesn't respond to this worlds rules."

"Well then we'll come up with something else," Dick proposed. "Because I mean it Jay, last night isn't happening again. I don't know how you've stood it but today has been hell. I've never been so drained in my life."

He stopped himself from telling Dick the demon had gone easy on them this time. That usually it was much worse. Instead, he had reiterate a point. "Thing is Dick, I kind of have to let it. You've seen what it's done when I say no, and this is it being nice. If I really say no, it's going to hurt someone, and I don't know if you know this but it seems to have a problem with Tim."

"Still, I am not-"

"Dick, look it's fine." He felt himself heating up, "I mean, it's not like you saw me complaining did you."

Dick looked disgusted just thinking about it. "You were forced into it. I could feel how much it wanted you to resist Jay. You were just being smart."

Jason held his tongue. There were times for people to confess their crushes and then there were times like this. "Whatever, the point stands that it's better if I just do what it says and you stay out of the way."

"Jay-"

"Trust me," Jason insisted, tapping Dick's phone pointedly. "It's for the best."

Dick must have been reading his messages. Or Wally had made follow ups since Dick seemed to understand what Jason was saying. It wasn't much different from being undercover. He had a part to play, and a plan that was, hopefully, being implemented, all Dick had to do was stay out of the way and things would work out. It was just too bad the demon had made this personal for both of them.

"Fine," Dick said at last. "But if I think something's gone wrong, or you're in too much trouble, I don't care what this thing said I'm going to kill it with my bare hands."

Jason didn't think he'd ever been so happy to have a big brother than he was right now.


	12. Chapter 12

Jason was rather glad when the demon came for him the next night. Loathe as he was to admit he'd felt a bit left out today. From the moment he'd woke up he'd felt apart from the family. Dick, now he knew the truth, was trying to make an effort to appear normal. 

No one seemed to question the sudden turnabout. Damian was delighted and clung to Dick, or as much as Damian could cling, from the moment Dick started cracking jokes his way. Tim was similarly pleased, believing yesterday was just a symptom of Dick's illness. Bruce, naturally, held some suspicion, but since the alternative was listening to Dick crying all day he let it go.

Suffice to say the family doted on Dick all day. He got cuddles when he asked for it, ice cream when he sweet talked Bruce, he was spoiled rotten and loving every minute of it. So long as he wasn't near Jason anyway. 

While things had been aired, that didn't change the fact that Dick had seen, experienced something that turned his insides. He didn't touch Jason, avoided being near him when he could. When it came to talking, Dick kept it short and almost always deflected to someone else if they were near.

Jason was on the outside in other words. There was no room in Dick's bubble for Jason, and since he couldn't make an escape thanks to the demon racheting his temperature up he was stuck bored stiff and alone. He couldn't even go to Alfred for some company since Leslie had taken today to come around and try her luck with a date. 

Jason was rather thankful when night came. When the demon came to wake him Jason didn't put up a fight. When it took him down the hall Jason went willingly, and when the door closed with a solid click Jason was the one crowding the demon against the wall.

He put all of his frustration into the kiss, figuring that he may as well get some release out of this. Today had been just a little too raw for him. He knew it was bad for Dick but it was still bad for Jason too, and he knew it was selfish to hope that through this they would band together. That Jason could tell Dick things now, like how scared he was, well, maybe not that but something. Yet it hadn't went like that. Instead, Dick not only kept to himself but he took everyone else with him.

He knew it was his own fault that he was on the outs with his family. It was his screw up coming back that drove a rift between himself and Bruce. That alienated Tim rather than ward him off from this lifestyle. He knew he hadn't made much of an effort with Damian, not like Dick had, and he knew it was his own fault Cass didn't even come around. Yet, he still considered them family, he still needed them, and he had always hoped Bruce got that. He always hoped Bruce understood that there were some things Jason could never admit to but give him anyway.

Looks like he hadn't fully understood the message. They probably hadn't even noticed Jason quaking in his seat at the thought of retribution. He wondered if any of them had seen the fear on his face at the idea that his words to Dick would make one of them a target. If they had noticed they had ignored him, and that hurt.

The demon wound his hands in Jason's hair, not even bothering to try and take control. Dick's nails bit into Jason's scalp, clenching until it pulled before gentling into strokes. 

Jason whined, pushing against Dick even harder until the demon lowered his hands to twine over Jason's shoulders, curling up gently until it was more of a hug than a tackle.

He melted into it, dragging his hands from the wall to Dick's waist. The demon wasn't clothed, as usual. The only thig he ever seemed to have on were boxers Jason was sure he had at his apartment. He thought, if he needed any proof this was Dick's counterpart, the stealing would have done it.

Jason toyed with them, wondering again if there was anything underneath them. He'd felt something before, but an incubus could probably just magic a cock up should it need one. He delved a hand under, leaving his questions for a while as he felt up Dick's ass. It looked just about the same as his counterparts, so Jason was guessing good breeding was behind most of its shape. But the demon, when Jason dipped his fingers along, seemed to be lacking the muscle that made up his doubles.

That wasn't to say it wasn't nice. Jason was fulfilling a good few fantasies here, and while it wasn't like the ass he'd looked at for most of his adult life, it still had a good shape to it, more than enough to get Jason interested.

Dick broke off from their kiss, breathing shakily as Jason explored further between his cheeks. "Want me to get my wings out?"

Jason would have said yes, should have said yes, but today had really put things in perspective. He shook his head, the demon giving him a sad smile as he turned the two of them around, Jason now hitting the wall. The kiss was different this time, almost chaste as Dick planted small, brief pecks to his lips. He could see the demons mind working now he was better aquainted with it. Its main goal was to get Jason off, and to that he had to either play nice or basically rape him.

This tactic here had Jason responding rather favourably. He chased after Dick when he parted, tried to make him linger when he was there. It was almost like they were making out, and the innocence of it all was exactly what Jason needed right now.

Still, Jason knew the demon would grow impatient. He, like the other Dick, only had so much attention to spare, so Jason slid his sweats down to pool around his ankles, his shirt following until he was skin to skin with the creature in front of him.

Dick hummed appreciatively, his eyes going a brighter blue than before as he did a sweep of Jason. He knew he shouldn't be enjoying the attention, but with a whole day of being ignored it was hard not to. Not to mention that this was Dick. Maybe not his brother, but this thing in front of him was Dick. A version of Dick. One that wanted him. One that saw him like his late night imaginings had always wanted.

The demon took his hand and led him further in. He didn't pull, he didn't grab, he just had Jason's wrist lightly in his hand and took him to where the old armchair sat. Dick shucked his, Jason's, boxers, falling back and hooking his legs until he was lying spread across the old arm rests. He was a picture, that was for sure. Even if Jason hadn't known who Dick Grayson was he would have been in awe of the man in front of him. His gold dusted skin was flawless, not one imperfection across any plain Jason could see. There was muscle still there, but not to the extreme that would be off putting, and in the sparse moonlight sneaking through the curtains it looked soft. He was smooth everywhere, which was surprising since the other Dick usually liked to have some hair at least on his junk. How Jason knew that was because there had been an incident a few months back where Tim had got Dick back for dying his hair blue by 'spilling'  a wax strip in his freshly showered lap. Jason had only been there for game night, he hadn't needed the information he'd gathered. Or the new stalker.

Speaking of, demon Dick spread his legs a little wider, arching his chest up slightly to give Jason a little more of a show. The enticing scene worked, Jason carefully climbing up until he could seat himself awkwardly between Dick's tighs.

Dick arched up, each slip of skin touching Jason's sending little thrills of pleasure straight to his cock. He melted down with Dick, letting the creature wrap itself securely around Jason until all he could see, feel, smell was Dick.

Jason kissed him, enjoying the feeling that on some level he was kissing Dick. He was. The demon was gentle with him again, letting Jason slide their lips together as it started rocking slowly up and across. Dicks foot nudged Jason's ass, his body getting the picture as it responded, asliding itself along Dick's until there was nothing but sweet friction between them. 

Soft little whimpers urged Jason on, the sounds reminiscent of their last encounter. He knew these ones were just for show, that all of this was, but the other night, that had been Dick. That had been Dick's body over him, seeking its own pleasure. Jason broke off their kiss, resting his forehead against Dick's as he listened to those noises. The same ones Dick made when he was getting off, the ones he made with other people, with Jason.

He reached down, his hand finding that cock he'd seen before. The one that was definitely not fake and looked fit to burst when Jason had looked at it. It was hot in his hand, the demon's whines stronger now as Jason explored. He'd seen Dick's cock before, usually in the showers after patrol. But it was one thing to sneak a peak when it was flaccid and another to see it hard, aroused and leaking in Jason's hand.

Dick didn't let Jason have all the fun for long, prying his hands away from Jason's shoulders, he dragged them down, his nails clawing into Jason's back until one wormed its way between their chests and expertly started pulling on Jason's cock. He felt his legs seize at the first real sense of friction, Dick knowing just the way to stroke to get him on edge. The two of them stroked against each other, their hands knocking, and on one occassion Dick rubbing their heads together until Jason was panting into Dick's mouth. 

He was almost there when Dick pulled off, batting Jason's hand away and bringing it up to help his other hand lever himself up. Dick grinned softly at him as he let his own hands travel back down until they reached Jason's ass. One spread him as the other went back to gather the pre cum staining their stomachs. Jason felt his thighs clench as his bain caught up, excitement welling within him as Dick circled his finger around his rim.

The second it slipped in Jason was rocking himself on it. Dick had long fingers, good fingers. They were fingers made to cling on to a trapeze and had no difficulty opening Jason up for a second. He heard himself groan low in his throat as Dick scissored him, one of his fingers swapping out until both hands were pulling him open. They worked together, hitting his prostate a few too many times until he was keening, rubbing himself on Dick's chest, his end so close.

He was held open again, Dick shifting beneath him until something brushed against his hole. Dick's cock wasn't going in, he didn't think the incubus was that masochistic to put off a feeding to hurt him, but it wasn't like Dick had to. Just the feel of it, of Dick's fingers, of himself being pushed back, almost slid into, had him hyped.

Jason went back harder, tried to get a better feel when he made the mistake of looking back. He wanted to see if he could catch another glimpse of Dick's cock, of it rutting in the air after rubbing against Jason's opening. But before he could even get that far his eyes got trapped at the door. Dick was there.

Crouched low, he had a lock pick in one hand, the door open enough so only part of his body was visible. He was watching them, his scarred hand shaking and looking like he wanted nothing better than to put the pick through his doppelganger's face. 

Jason would have been worried, had he not been painfully aroused with the thought that Dick was here. He must have some kind of exhibitionist kink he didn't know about because that was all he was thinking as the demon gave one good, hard thrust and Jason came. He could feel himself shaking, the demon purring as his hole clenched and cock pulsed. 

He felt himself tiring as the demon fed, the ache he should have felt dulling as he was set, still gently, to the side. The demon kissed him one last time, stealing the boxers Jason had been wearing this time as he said, "I hope you enjoyed that," his eyes on the door, on Dick as he disappeared.

Jason didn't even try and keep conscious, passing out before Dick could start a heart to heart.

He woke to Alfred reading to him. Julius had just been stabbed and was giving his great monologue. A classic. 

He yawned as he tried opening his eyes. Again, it wasn't as hard as it could have been, and Jason was even able to sit up without a five minute rest. Alfred didn't even set the play down as he handed Jason a bowl of cereal, the sugary sweetness that exploded on his tongue suggesting this was one of Dick's boxes.

He ate it dutifully before settling down to listen to the last few scenes. 

When they finally emerged into the wider manor, Alfred told him that Bruce had drove Tim and Damian to Metropolis. When Dick had went walkabout last night he'd somehow missed Bruce waking up. That meant, when Dick returned with Jason worse for wear Bruce had been awake to catch it. Bruce hadn't been joking when he said he was sending the kids away if something like this happened agaim, and no matter how much Damian complained there was only one person outside of Gotham that Bruce trusted.

Dick had been going with them to smooth the transition over, but not before he managed to make breakfast. Jason could practically feel the disappointmemt rolling off Alfred as they went downstairs as he retold Dick's version of a nutritious breakfast.

"He should be back with Master Bruce though. He was quite insistent."

Jason just bet he was.

Together, Jason manged to pass the time by making one of Alfred's more adventurous meals for dinner. Since Damian wasn't around they could even put a bit of pork in, which had Jason's mouth watering just thinking about it. He'd managed to settle Alfred on the table making desert, something he took to gladly when Jason started asking about his date with Leslie. 

When Bruce and Dick came back they had managed to get most of it done. Sometimes, especially in times like these Jason marvelled at how much they could get done if people like Bruce and Dick stayed out of the way. Alfred agreed when Jason mentioned it, and just to prove him right again as soon as Bruce came in the kitchen he managed to almost sabotage Alfred's strawberry tart.

One swift whack with a spatula had Bruce retreating to the counter, Dick joining him as soon as he saw they were cooking.

"Maybe if you just showed me what to do," Dick tried.

Alfred shot him down, "I did if you recall Master Dick. As I remember it, you managed to somehow mix up lemon and baking powder."

"How?" Jason asked.

Dick sputtered a moment, "Okay hold on. First off, I was ten, and I think my attention span has widely improved since then." A look from Bruce had Jason sniggering. "Secondly, baking powder and lemon came in two very similar boxes when I was that age. They were easy to mix up."

"As were salt and strawberries," Alfred said.

To that, Dick sulked, Bruce patting him on the arm. "Sorry chum."

Bruce, as they set the food to the side to cool for a while, seemed to be either pretending last night didn't happen or waiting for Jason to comment on it. Well, either those or Dick could have spilled the demonic secret between them. But Bruce wasn't looking at him or Dick any more unusual than he normally did.

They went outside for a while, Jason breathing the sweet air and feeling the freedom it promised. God he'd missed being outside. Alfred took himself up among the flowers, telling them he may as well enjoy the benefits of his hard work as he ordered Bruce about to fetch him things. Dick had still kept his distance today, but as soon as Bruce was out of sight he sat himself next to Jason.

There was an awkward silence for a while, the two of them lost in their thoughts. Jason in particular remembering Dick's presence last night.

"Are you gay?" Dick asked.

Jason's first instinct was to ask Dick to repeat himself, yet he couldn't manage that because he had heard Dick.

"It's just," Dick struggled when Jason didn't answer, "last night, and the other night, I guess I just didn't notice it because, you know, but I would've thought it would be all, you know, blow jobs and... stuff." There were some hand movements Jason hoped Alfred didn't see. "It's just there was a lot of... butt stuff."

Jason howled. He'd grown up with kids who had the filthiest mouths known to man. Dick's pure innocence when he talked about sex was something he had never been prepared for. He hadn't been able to manage it when he was thirteen and he certainly couldn't handle it now. 

Dick turned red. "Well?"

Jason huffed thinking on his answer. He could just tell Dick to mind his own business. He knew Dick wouldn't pressure him, not about this. But, he supposed it wasn't like anything could shock Dick at this point. "I don't know. I didn't really have crushes," except the one on Dick. "And then, when I came back, there was Talia but that was more just regret that I'd never had real sex before I died." He could see Dick reading into that, his hands clenching just as Bruce's did when he'd figured out the same thing. His mom had needed the hit, Jason always came second after that. "I haven't really had that many other interests. I don't know."

He'd always figured his lack of want for sex, at least any and all sex he could get like other teens his age, had been because he'd come from a place where it was just another way for someone to hurt him. He was living this fairy tale life with Bruce when he got out of there, and some part of him, even if his want had stemmed from a power play himself, ha always liked the idea that if he did let himself be with someone it would mean something. Stupid, he knew, but it was how his mind worked and it hadn't changed all that much now he was back. Truthfully he was pretty sure he'd only slept with five people since his resurrection, that was including the demon.

Dick didn't seem too weirded out, just contemplative. "So, boys and girls?"

Jason nodded. "Hasn't really been an either or."

Dick smiled slightly, "That's kind of sweet."

"Shut up." This was exactly what he didn't want to happen.

They returned to the silence, Dick with that smile still on his face. "You seem to like it."

Jason groaned, "We're not talking about this."

"I can't help it," Dick said. "If I don't talk I feel like I need to punch something, and since Bruce won't let me down to the cave... I know it's not exactly a nice topic."

"Then stop talking about that and start talking about something else. Or, better yet bother Bruce."

Dick laughed, the mirth lost, "Believe me, if you want this to remain between us you don't want me talking to Bruce. I almost told him before, on the way back from Clark's. He's been so good lately and I just- it's Bruce you know."

Jason did know. Bruce was and always would be their dad. He would always help them, always bail them out. He was safe, and scary and felt much more equipped to handle this situation than the two of them.

"What are we going to do? Like, really Jay, do you have a plan?"

"Honestly?" Jason asked. "No."

It was quieter without Tim and Damian around. Jason had forgotten how empty the manor was when there wasn't constant fighting or excited barking to fill it. The others seemed to be feeling the same thing. It wasn't like Bruce could fill that void with Batman either. Dick and Jason were sick and Alfred was injured, if anything happened to them while he was out, even if Gotham supposedly came first, Bruce would never be able to forgive himself.

They were stuck in a rut like that for two days, everyone existing around each other but growing surlier and surlier as the hours passed by. They were all stuck in their own misery, banded together by Bruce's stubbornness. Jason got visited by the demon once more in that time, Dick, again, slipping in near the finish. Jason had a suspicion he was trying to keep Bruce from tying Jason down. But Dick had always been bad at sneaking around Bruce so when morning came Bruce had questions for both of them about why Dick always found Jason outside of the room they were meant to be sleeing in.

The suspicion was hard to shake. Even harder to live with without an outlet. At the evening of the second day Jason hid behind Alfred, the butler a brilliant shield when Bruce was acting like a grump because he'd learnt how to fend him off.

The two of them found the collection of Shakespeare Bruce had hidden in the library, huddling up while Dick coerced Bruce into a game of monopoly. If one of them came out of that game alive it would be a miracle. He remembered the last game he'd played with them, Dick and Bruce arguing so loudly he was sure one of them was going to throw a fist.

They were smiling, so it wasn't going bad yet.

Really, the shouting had just started when a blur of red came shooting into the manor.

"Wally!" Bruce snapped as all his little properties got swept away, Dick beaming at the opportunity to mess up which cards Bruce had.

Yet, when the blur stopped, it wwasn't the freckled face of Wally behind the cowl. Barry Allen, alive and well, tugged his cowl down, grinning at all of them as the shock sank in. 

"Barry," Dick grinned, barrelling into the man.

"Ooh, you got big Dickie," Barry said.

Dick snorted, but seemed to be visibly preening at the compliment. "You've only been gone a year."

Didn't stop Barry from ruffling Dick's hair like he was nine years old again. Surprisingly, when he was done with Dick, Barry managed to coerce a hug from Bruce before he grinned at the rest of them. "Oh, it's good to be back. You have no idea, the hell I've been through."

"Have you seen Wally yet?" Dick asked.

Barry nodded, "Bart and Iris too. I've er, kind of been back a day. Would've come sooner but I had an angry family to deal with."

"Family comes first," Bruce said, which, had this been any other day in any other year, Jason would have believed Bruce had been taken over by a pod person. "Besides, it's not like we're... close," Jason was ninety five percent sure that word was meant to be friends.

Barry shrugged, "Believe what you want Bruce, but I missed you. That other world, they could've used a guy like you there."

Dick latched onto that as his cue to ask about Barry's experience. The story itself was strange. A utopia that wasn't what it looked like. "My mom was there. My dad too, but everyone else, they didn't know me." Iris was engaged to someone else. Wally was dead. Because I didn't marry Iris Bart never existed." It got worse, much worse.

There was no Superman, the alien that had landed in Kansas had been captured and contained, tortured, by the government all of his life. Arthur and Diana were waging war across the world, levelling cities and countries in their wake. There was a Green Arrow but he wasn't the Oliver they knew. Barry had wanted to come back, had tried, but his speed was gone, taken the first time he set foot on that new world.

"I never became the Flash because I was never at the right place. I had no reason to be there. So I went looking for a way to get it back. To get back here."

He went to Gotham, which was where he saw Wally, really saw Wally for the first time. The time before he had been sure he was hallucinating, but this time, he was sure he saw Wally running past him.

"I tried asking for help. Telling him to take me with him, but, I guess he never heard me. It was a long shot anyway."

Barry ended up at Wayne Manor. He broke in, found the cave and hoped he could get other Bruce to help him. When he got down however, it wasn't Bruce behind the cowl.

"It was your dad. Thomas."

Bruce made no reaction, told Barry to continue, but Jason could see his hands, how still they were, how trained they were to stop when he was nervous. Where other people would move, Bruce would stay still.

Thomas wasn't the loving dad Bruce remembered. Something had been stalking his family, his son. He would find Bruce talking to himself, staring at nothing, laughing at mirrors. Things would happen in the manor he couldn't explain. A new toy Thomas swore they hadn't bought him, Bruce's name carved into the walls. Until they had to get out, which they did. They went to the theatre, and when they came out Bruce got shot. 

"Your dad, he didn't say what happened to your mom, but I think it was bad."

Bruce nodded, his voice actually shaking as he said, "What happened?"

It took some convincing for Thomas to trust him, to help him, and by that time he'd seen Wally three more times. It took two attempts to get Barry his speed back. "But I got it and here I am."

"So what happens now?" Dick asked. "To the other world?"

Barry pursed his lips, "Well, see, it's not actually a world. It's a timeline, and now that I've set this one back on course the other one should slowly deteriorate. I think it'll be gone by tomorrow. Three days at the most."

"Tomorrow?" Jason asked. 

No, that was too soon. He had always thought he could find a way to set this demon back in its own world. But if the world was gone, the demon was stuck here. Unless...

"What if someone from that world came here before that world died? Would they just, vanish?"

Barry thought on that for a while. "I don't know. They could, theoretically, exist, but in all likelihood they'll just merge with their double. Why?"

"Just curious."

He could see Dick pale on the other side from Barry, the same thoughts crossing his head. If Dick merged with this creature, it might not be Dick that would win. When Jason had merged, they had been in a hotspot, the timeline he was going into the more dominant one. Dick on the other hand might have crossed a hotspot, but his double was in this timeline, and he had been the one to take over, not Dick when they merged. 

They could lose Dick if they didn't figure something out.

"Oh, I have presents," Barry said, reaching into a pouch he, somehow, had on his suit. "This is for you," he handed to Bruce a letter, one that Bruce immediately excused himself to read. Jason didn't blame him, he caught the writing, and he remembered some of the journals he'd found in the library belonging into Bruce's father. "And this is for you," he handed a small bound book to Dick. "Wally said you'd texted him or something. You're lucky, it took me two tries to understand what he was saying."

So Wally had done it. Jason was eager to snatch the book off Dick, to read it, and see what would trap this beast once and for all. But he supposed that would draw suspicion, so Jason stopped his hands from twitching and let Dick catch Barry up on everything Wally had left out.


	13. Chapter 13

Bruce didn't come out of the cave that night. Jason would have been worried, but with Bruce gone and Alfred asleep by eleven, Jason and Dick had the room to themselves.

As soon as they did Jason was prying the book out of Dick's hands, looking over his shoulder every other page he turned in case the demon would creep up and take it off him. Or worse, see him and exact some kind of warning or revenge against whatever Jason was thinking of doing.

Dick was quiet as Jason passed page after page of diagrams and writing. He'd been quiet since Barry had left them. Jason didn't have to ask why, he could feel the worry pouring off Dick, hell, he was probably radiating the same. He didn't want Dick to become this demon. He didn't want to lose his brother. Dick was probably the only person in this stupid family, except Alfred who would always be exempt from any and every thing involving Jason's disdain towards them, that he could tolerate. Dick was the one who made the effort. Who tracked him down when he didn't want to be found and forced him to be human for once. He was the one who took care of things Jason couldn't, who took things to Bruce when Jason wouldn't. He was just a good guy, one that didn't deserve to be taken over by a sadistic demon.

"What do you think happened?" Dick asked.

Jason held his place, watching Dick stare into space, "Happened?"

"With Bruce? The other Bruce. Barry said..."

"Yeah." Jason knew what he was talking about. That whole story of Bruce talking to himself, it didn't sound like the normal adventures of a kid his age. Jason knew all about imaginary friends, hell he'd wondered why he hadn't the creativity to come up with one himself when he'd been little. But, things being carved into the walls, toys randomly appearing, that wasn't an imaginary friend. "You want to hear something weird too?"

Dick tilted his ear, showing he was listening.

"The demon, he knows Bruce. Like, more thank knows. He seemed almost afraid when I mentioned him that first time. I was kind of hoping my other self and Bruce were like, demon hunters or something, but, if he's dead, I don't know. He knew Damian too."

Dick frowned, "How can he know Damian if Bruce is dead?"

"I don't know Dick. I just hope my other self managed to actually find something in this thing instead of just giving it over."

The writing was hard to read when Jason started scouring the pages properly. For one, it was freaking tiny. This other world must not have heard of writing over size nine since Jason was pretty sure he was going to need glasses after this encounter. Then there was the ink. Whoever thought mixing ink and water was a good idea could go rot in hell. It took Jason more than an hour to read the entirety of the first page, and by the time he was done he was passing it on to Dick so he could go find a magnifying glass or something to help. 

They were up a long time, and Jason actually thanked Bruce for all those late nights as the four o clock mark approached. Dick was taking a power nap, snoring loudly on Jason's knees as he passed the second chapter. Still, Bruce hadn't come up. Whatever his dad had wrote him seemed to be too much for him to process. Either that or he'd went out as Batman. He wouldn't put it past Bruce. Dick and Jason weren't going anywhere, and the two of them ill were enough to defend Alfred. If there was some trouble at the manor one of them would alert Bruce before something truly bad happened.

He turned to the next page just as strong hands started rubbing his neck. Jason didn't jump, he'd kind of been expecting a visit tonight. Really, the surprise here was how long it took for the demon to show up.

"Necromancy huh? Resurrecting anyone good?" The demon asked.

Jason set the book nonchalantly to the side. If he showed it wasn't a big deal, it wouldn't be. "You're seriously going to have to start fasting a little longer. I want to get out of here."

Dick hummed, curling himself around Jason's shoulders. "I could. But I might not be able to help myself taking a little more if I do."

Jason huffed, not bothering to argue. If he managed to find a way to get rid of this demon taking a bit more wouldn't be a problem. "Let's do this then."

Dick hopped up like a kid on Christmas, skipping over to the room next to Bruce's and tossing Jason's briefs at the door, again some he'd stolen from Jason's apartment. He lay himself on the armchair again, eyeing Jason hungrily when he shed his clothes.

Jason stretched, tossing a leg over Dick's chest to sit on his stomach. He took himself in hand, not really having the energy to do much more than go through the motions. It wasn't even demon tiredness that was eating at him this time. He was just plain exhausted from all the excitement and late nights he'd been having. 

He think he yawned at one point since when he looked down Dick was scowling up at him. It took effort to perk himself up, making his hand go faster so he could go to bed. Or maybe crawl to bed, wake other Dick up so he could take over reading then go to bed.

He saw Dick twitching, the lack of energy from Jason really ruining the mood. He supposed it was his own fault for spoiling Dick. He certainly hadn't been unenthusiastic the last two times he'd been with the demon. Mainly because Dick had turned up at the end of it. But Dick was flat out right now. He wasn't waking up for a while. Another hour at least. 

He felt the demon shift, his hips lifting up again, which he knew got Jason going, when the air around them changed. The room blurred slightly at the edges, the sheets covering the crib and dressers lying on the floor. Everything was smashed, Bruce's name scratched into the walls, the writing almost familiar, just tickling the back of his mind.

The skin under his shifted, Jason rearing off the bed. "Demon!" He looked down, his clothes gone. "What have you done? What trick is this?"

The demon started, his eyes going wide as he finally noticed the shift around them. When he latched onto Jason again there was a hint of disappointment hiding behind the excitement. 

"Jason?"

He found a shirt, tugging it on, wondering how it fit. There were boxers near it, some more at the door. "Possession? Really? You must have been quite distracted to let me out of your grip."

The demon leapt up, "It is you." He reached out for Jason, stopped by a hand on his chest and a pair of briefs held pointedly over his more exposed areas. Dick took it, hopping into them happily for a change, his eyes still not leaving Jason. 

"What is this?" Jason asked again. "Where have your brought me this time?"

Dick shrugged, dressed as much as Jason would probably be able to get him. "It doesn't matter." He reached out again, Jason letting the demon hug him. It was one of the tamer things he'd done, and Jason would be lying if he didn't like the feeling. The church did have its drawbacks, human contact being one of it. 

Still, after a minute Jason put an end to it, unravelling himself from Dick's arms to get another look at the room they were in. It looked like a nursery. A dingy, broken, expensive nursery, and that name, Bruce, he'd heard that before. He eyed the demon next to him, the one still hugging the arm Jason couldn't get it to let go. "Bruce? That wouldn't be your master would it?"

Two, still human, blue eyes glared up at him, "Bruce is not my master. We've been through this Jay."

"Right, you turned him," He remembered. "Still doesn't explain why you run when he calls you."

Dick's eyes turned a brighter blue than they had been before, a tell if Jason had ever seen one. They stopped before they got too bright, lessening back to those dull beautiful blues Jason was sure would have tempted people into his bed even if he didn't have supernatural inclinations. "Well, after a few days he won't be calling me at all. Then it'll just be you and me forever."

Jason rolled his eyes, trying the door and finding it unlocked. The hallway outside was ornate, and dark. The light switch Jason found only lit three of the five bulbs. "So this is Wayne Manor." He'd heard stories about this place. 

When he was younger it was all people could talk about. Thomas and Martha Wayne, the elite of the elite and their downfalls. He was pretty sure he saw Martha walking the streets the other day. He'd just given her mass in Arkham too. Sometimes Jason wondered why the system even tried to make a difference in Gotham. But Thomas, Jason had never met Thomas. He'd heard the man was mad. He had to be to still stay in this city.

Bruce Wayne Jason knew all about. He'd heard from Dick when he came to see him the stories of the little boy that was able to see him. It was almost endearing to listen to Dick tell him how he'd been fascinated with the kid, so much so that he didn't kill the boy right away. Instead, he converted him. Jason hadn't even known that was a thing until Dick told him so. He hadn't known demons could do a lot of things until he met Dick. 

"You know, if we get caught, I'm handing you over to old man Wayne myself. I'm sure he'll be delighted to know who the creature was that terrorized the better half of his son's life."

Dick pouted, unlatching his body off Jason's arm to hold his hand instead. He swung it between them. "I think he'll thank me."

"Thank you?"

They had come upon more bedrooms, each one dusty and holding broken furniture. Jason knew that Wayne could afford a cleaner. He could probably afford a lot of people to keep this place in ship shape. It was his want to be alone, to wallow in his grief, that had this place so decrepit. It was sad. Maybe if they did find him Jason would ask if he wanted to seek refuge at the church some time. He knew it could be soothing to people. Give them purpose again. Like Tim.

"Well, I did save his kids life. If it wasn't for me Bruce would be ten feet under right now. I mean, he is ten feet under, but at least he can come aboard every now and then."

Jason hummed, not wanting to continue add anything to that. As far as he was concerned, being dead was far more preferable to becoming one of the higher demons. He had looked up some of the stories about Bruce, Damian too when Dick started raving about babysitting his demon cub, and he knew Thomas would be anything but thankful if he learnt the truth about what happened to Bruce.

 They got to the bannister when Jason felt his world shifting again, spitting him back out into reality. He let go of the demon's hand, stumbling slightly as his head reset itself. Dick watched him go, his human eyes gone to be replaced with things that were pure fire, some remnant of his other self telling him to run. 

Jason didn't. There were still people in this house. So Jason dug his hand in his briefs instead, working himself up, even if his body wasn't in it at all right, now. The demon did nothing, just watched him with that fury as Jason came weakly. It didn't hang around to gloat, it just went, the mess in Jason's briefs disappearing the only proof he had that the demon had been there. 

He stumbled back to his bed, his legs growing weaker and eyes barely open as he flopped down next to Dick. 

Dick was hard at work when he woke. He handed Jason another too sugary bowl of cereal, giving him a look like he could tell exactly what he had been doing last night before he turned back to the writing in front of him. Jason didn't even argue, just ate the captain crunch and huddled up next to Dick when he wasn't sent away.

"You okay?" Dick asked, eyes never leaving the page. 

"No worse than usual." Maybe even better. Whatever the demon usually took of him seemed even less this time. He looked at the clock next to him, the green numbers not even reading past noon and Jason was awake and able to function. "But, something weird happened last night."

"Define weird," Dick specified. Jason looked around for Alfred, Dick finally looking at him when the silence extended. "Bruce came up earlier and took him down. I think they're talking about the letter. He made sure I stayed so you wouldn't wake up alone."

"Right." Jason sorted out what had happened last night. It was rather hard. Some of the thoughts he was sure were his own, so separating them from the other him took a bit of time. "Well, the worlds have started merging," he started with.

Dick nodded, "I know. Not long after you left Alfred started screaming. He kept clutching at his head talking about Amazons. The room was different too." So it wasn't just Jason then. He didn't know whether to ask Dick more or put it aside for later. Dick chose for him, shrugging with that fake smile on his face as he said, "It didn't last long, and I didn't really merge. There were just glimmers. Maybe I wasn't close enough to him."

"He was pretty close," Jason said. Just the next door over when it all started actually. "And my other self must have been at the church, don't laugh," He warned when he saw a glimmer of a real smile on Dick's face. He knew he wasn't going to hear the end of this when all of this madness was over. "So, I don't think distance was the issue."

The why they didn't merge was at the forefront of Jason's mind as he started telling Dick all that he'd found out about the other world. While his mouth may have answered some of the questions he had, Dick's too, his mind was also still running, Jason able to pick at it this time now he knew what had happened.

"I found out what happened to Tim," He finished.

Dick took a while, probably just absorbing the idea of Bruce being a demon, a demon of his own making actually, to tune back into Jason. "Tim?"

"Why other you has a fixation on him."

Dick paled, "Do I want to know?"

"It's not pretty," Jason admitted. "Makes what I did to him look like a walk in the park."

Dick turned back to the book, reading a few pages, telling Jason he still hadn't found anything useful before he sighed, held the page and asked, "What?"

"You, er, you kind of killed his parents."

Well, it wasn't as simple as that. It turned out that the demon had been haunting Father Todd for a while before Tim started turning up at the church. They had entered a small truce, the demon hanging around more out of amusement than need now. Jason would almost say the demon was fond of him, had he not been convinced Dick could feel nothing even close to that emotion. 

Tim had came with his parents, the kid was fifteen and looked like most other fifteen year olds his age in church. Bored. Only, it wasn't him that they were there for. After every service Tim's parents would go to the confessional, a common thing his other self thought. Apparently the rich and famous found some solace in confessing their sins to a priest rather than the police. Especially since Jason was obliged not to release any information his parishioners give him unless it was life threatening. 

"The demon... you remember what it said to Tim on the ouija?" Jason asked. Dick took a while before he nodded, eyes wide, "Yeah, so, it wasn't exactly lying."

His mom was having three affairs at the same time, Jason usually growing bored listening to the almost bragging nature she confessed her exploits in. Tim's dad took a similar route to live his life, just a lot more violent. Jason didn't even delve into those stories, the first one leaving his skin crawling, so he'd moved on the fascination with Tim instead.

"My other self was trying to get him to stay behind after services. Shut up," he warned again. "He wanted to try and get Tim out of his house, and other you didn't like all the time other me was spending with him."

He started messing with Tim at first. The usual knocks on the doors that no one was behind. People in mirrors or his image not corresponding with his body. Tim, instead of getting the message, started going to church more, telling Jason of these strange happenings and begging for help. Since Dick's plan backfired he tried warning Jason to stay away. 

Naturally, Jason didn't listen. He honestly didn't know what else Dick could do.

"Other me got a phone call in the middle of the night. The police wanted me to come down, give evidence. Apparently Tim just woke up with a knife in his hands. Other me, last night, he talked about possession. I think the demon made Tim kill them."

"I hope to God Metropolis didn't have a surge last night," Dick said.

Jason agreed. It was bad enough finding the story, seeing the memories of going to the police station to find Tim screaming into a blanket they had wrapped around him. He knew the two of them, this version of the two of them, weren't on the best of terms, had never been on the best of terms, but even Jason could see the cruelty in that story. 

They lapsed into silence, the urgency of what they needed to do more pressing than ever. If this thing took over, who knows what it could do. In this world, the demon community liked to keep a low profile. Dick's demonic double didn't seem to get that memo. Not if he was terrorizing children, priests, anyone he could get his hands on. 

They took the book in turns, Jason suggesting they just take pictures of half so they could split the effort. It was a good idea, if they had more time. But they didn't, so they just speed read as much as they could before taking a break and passing it onto the other one. 

Bruce came to check on them as the one o clock mark passed. He dragged them out of their pit to get something real to eat. Bruce's eyes were still red, looking like he'd been crying recently not just last night. Jason wondered if he had felt the surge in the cave. What he had felt if he had. He was a demon like Dick, did he even merge? Dick hadn't.

He didn't comment on it however, so Jason left it alone. There were far more pressing matters to cover after all, like where the hell Bruce got lunch from. 

"Did you make this?" Jason asked, eyeing his sandwich. 

"Yes."

He put it down like it would bite him. "I don't think I'm hungry."

"Eat it," Bruce said, biting into his own. Jason watched him as he chewed, the pause in the middle speaking volumes. 

Alfred slid something covertly under the table to him, Jason thanking him quietly as Dick poked at his own food.

Lunch was a disaster, and Jason kind of hoped they could beg out with Dick being poisoned. But, Alfred saved the day there as well, and since Bruce spat his own out when he thought none of them were watching there was nothing stopping them from following Bruce when he told them to follow.

 They ended up in the cave, Alfred grumbling about being carried down as he limped to Bruce's chair. Jason stifled a snigger at the sass Alfred put into one act, focusing instead on Bruce as he faced them. There was something in his eyes as he looked at Dick that Jason couldn't place. Something that lasted long enough to get Dick squirming.

"What?"

Bruce turned, snatching up the letter Barry had given him last night. "I think I might know what we're dealing with. My... father, he said some things that made me reevaluate what I've seen. There was also a surge last night, I don't know if you boys felt it but I for one am certainly glad we're staying in this timeline." 

So Bruce had felt it. Jason was curious about what he saw, whether his other self was harassing some poor soul like Dick or in the confines of hell. He didn't ask, mainly because he could tell what that look in Bruce's eyes was now. Fear. Fear either of Dick or for him.

"I think we're dealing with a demon," Bruce said, letting it sink in for a moment before he turned to the computer. "I've already made contact with Zatanna and Constantine. They've said they would get here as soon as possible, but until then I think it's a good idea for the three of you to leave the manor."

Jason reeled at how easy Bruce was taking this. That they all were. Had their lives really become so accustomed to magic and lunacy that a demon attack was like any other day for them? It looked like it had. Still didn't mean Bruce's plan wasn't a load of useless nonesense. "No offence B, but I don't think sending us away is going to do you any good." They needed to be upstairs reading that freaking book.

Yet Bruce was adamant that, "I know you boys like to back me up, and any other time I would take you up. But this thing has already hurt you Jay, Alfred and Tim too. I am not having anymore casualties if I can help it." 

Right, Jason forgot Bruce was a self sacrificing dumbass like that. "It's not that."

"Then what?" Bruce waited.

Jason tried to sort himself out, to tell without telling. This thing was still watching him after all. One wrong move and someone would stop breathing. 

It was Dick that came to his rescue, his own mouth not tethered to the same promises Jason's was. "You can't send us away Bruce because this thing has latched on to Jason not the manor."

They watched as Bruce processed this. As he went over everything that had happened. The illness, the cuts, the hallucinations that were now anything but. Jason could see the exact moment Bruce put together Dick's ravings the other day with what he knew from last night. "You knew?" Bruce asked, which, of course Bruce was going to start with off the bat. If there was one thing he hated it was people keeping secrets from him.

"Only a few days," Dick defended, knowing how to soothe the bat from a rant by now. "Jason didn't even tell me, I had to figure it out for myself. I think it threatened him."

Bruce asked him silently, Jason wanting to nod but the shadows were too big down here to make sure they were alone. Bruce understood anyway, the anger, at least at the two of them, leaving. He turned to Dick. "Do you know what it wants?"

"Jason," Dick answered easily. "When we merged the other day it was almost desperate for him. I think it's just latching onto something familiar."

Which was when Bruce put together that this was a timeline issue. Jason watched his brow furrow, clearing when he mouthed 'ouija'. The same pity that had been on Dick's face these past few days now extended to Bruce, Alfred too when Jason dared to look. "Jay..."

Jason shrugged, not liking this centre of attention stuff. Not when he was the victim anyway. "Look, it's fine. I'm handling it."

Bruce said nothing for a while, just stood there looking at Jason. Whatever he was thinking he purposefully put to the side after a while, a hardened look Jason was familiar with taking over as he turned to Dick. "What have you figured out?"

Dick hesitated, probably thinking the same as Jason. This thing was listening. It was a miracle it hadn't took the book off him last night. "We're looking for a solution," Dick said eventually. "The thing, it doesn't respond to this world's laws. At least, I don't think it does. Jason had an idea, but we're still figuring out if anything will come of it." 

Bruce nodded, "This thing, I don't suppose it will do what Barry said and merge with you, will it?" and there was something there, a hesitance, like Bruce still couldn't bring himself to believe any version of his beloved Dick could be so evil. 

Dick shrugged, "I don't know. But if it does, we're not sure that I'll win."

"I'll call Zatanna again."

It was a dismissal, and one Jason took with both hands as he ran up to find the book they'd left in Bruce's room. It was still there, thankfully, and Dick's place still kept. 

They read until Bruce called them down for dinner, Jason feeling every hour get more and more pressing. He could feel the world changing around him. Apparently he wasn't the only one, Bruce telling them he'd asked Barry about it. The timelines were merging, and there was bound to be some displacement while it settled. There shouldn't be too much shifting. Jason disagreed with that statement as he felt more of his world moving. 

"Dick," He handed the book over to him, "You're gonna have to read for a while." His other self was starting to invade his mind. 

Dick cooed quietly at him, fluffing his hair like they hadn't just spent the most awkward week of his life with Jason. "What's Father Todd wanting?"

Jason growled, but didn't move from the stroking. It felt nice, and some part of him had missed the familiar contact. He leant into it, Dick moving down to stroking his neck. "He's trying to tell me to be careful with you."

"What kind of person is he? He like men too?"

Jason swatted at him, wishing he'd never said anything now. "He's a priest. He's celibate."

Dick gave a low whistle. "He's still, like your age right?" Jason nodded. "Wow. Do not think I could do that."

"Just read."

Bruce checked on them as he came up from the cave. Constantine was the first one to have arrived, the crude Englishman taking one look at Jason and tutting. 

"What?" Bruce demanded.

"He's a bit peaky isn't he? Thought you'd dealt with demons before." 

Constantine did a sweep of the room, spent a while in the bathroom before coming back over to Jason and Dick. He checked Dick out first. "He must have been desperate to go for you too. Incubus, usually, only take from one person."

"We were kind of merged. I think he was feeling a bit violated. I could hear him," Dick said quietly, like it was a crime to be forced to overhear a demon's thoughts. 

"That'll do it. Demons' are petty like that." Constantine moved on to Jason. "I've had a talk with your dad. Says you've been resurrected. Demons like that kind of thing, it's not wonder it latched on to you. You probably have the other world still stained on you."

"Other world?" Jason asked. Constantine gave him a pointed look. Right, heaven or hell, wherever Jason ended up when he died. "Bruce also tell you it's from another timeline?"

"He may have mentioned it," Constantine said. "Which is why I've started looking into other ways of trapping it. Don't worry, this thing isn't going to be feeding off you again."

Jason wanted to believe him, he really did.

Constantine was in his element as he looked through the rest of the manor. Jason heard him wander past another three times before he came back in to look over the book Dick was reading. "Thought I didn't notice it," He laughed. 

It was faster with Constantine reading it. He actually knew what to look for, finding the page they were looking for, including some notes from Father Todd, right at the back. He skipped out to find Bruce when he did, leaving Dick and Jason to, 'sit there and don't do anything'. 

"Well, there goes our involvement," Dick huffed.

"Good." If Jason never had to hear about a demon again he would be the happiest guy in the world. 

Alfred was bundled up with them after Constantine gave some order for them all to be together. The only one who was exempt was Bruce, Constantine needing him for some artistic stuff. They ended up watching a movie on one of the tablets Tim had hidden in Bruce's room. Jason barely paid attention, his head jumbling with thoughts from other him.

He was confused. So confused. He didn't know where he was. Well, he did, but he didn't know why. The only thing he was certain on was Dick, the demon, for once, keeping its distance rather than cuddling up to him. He kind of wished it didn't. 

It got worse, this whole merging thing finding Jason halfway across the room, his other self wanting to leave, to get back to the church before his other self returned and had to make the walk of shame back to the bed. Dick didn't comment on it. Alfred either, but that was mainly because he had moments where he didn't know what was going on either. Dick, really was the only one of them that didn't seem affected by the shift.

"Demon," Jason heard himself say. Dick didn't answer, and Jason was kind of glad he didn't. It still didn't stop Jason from calling him demon three more times. "What have you done?"

Dick stroked back his hair again, "It's going to be okay Jay."

He batted the hand off, his nerves, both of his nerves, too wired to let Dick get too near him right now.

It carried on for a while. Too long Jason thought, until it just stopped. He could think again, feel his hands and feet be his own. He felt like he was himself again. Alfred too was fine when he looked up. More, the world had stopped blurring, the lines of reality set back into their right order. Yet Dick didn't look soothed at all.

"Barry had said it would be set today," Dick mumbled. "Guess he was right."

"You feel any different?"

Dick shook his head. Jason took a breath, pushing himself up from the mattress to check on the situation outside the room. 

It had grown dark, Dick going through three more movies before the world set itself. Jason couldn't see Bruce when he poked his head outside. He couldn't hear him either. Jason retreated back to the bed.

"So, the world's back to normal," He started with.

"Guess so," Dick said. They both looked to the door, "You think they've got him?"

"I'm sure Master Bruce has him. Or he's in the midst of getting him," Alfred said, his voice raw and hand rubbing his neck. "We shouldn't worry. Master Bruce has spoke highly of Constantine after all, and we all know that praise doesn't come lightly."

Which was true, and did make Jason feel a bit better about sitting in here. There was a reason Alfred was the main caretaker of the kids, and right here was the reason. He was just better at it than Bruce. Which was why Jason had no qualms about curling up next to Dick and Alfred again to watch another movie.

It was good, in a way, that Dick hadn't felt anything. It meant he hadn't merged with his other self. It meant they hadn't lost him. But it didn't mean the demon was gone. Hopefully, now it was trapped here, Constantine could get it. Jason was hoping anyway.

He dropped off just as Dick started looking for a movie that wasn't animated or with singing. 

He woke when the bed dipped, Dick squirming out from the middle of Jason's arms. He watched as Dick padded towards the door, slipping out without even a warning to Alfred. Jason yawned, debating whether to drop off again. Sadly curiosity was in his blood, if it wasn't he never would have gotten to be Robin, so Jason followed.

He didn't even try to be sneaky, he didn't think he had to. When he caught up with Dick, his eyes were glassy, unseeing, like he was sleepwalking his way through the manor. He considered waking Dick, taking him back to the bedroom, but Bruce had always said psychological trauma could be caused if you woke a sleepwalker, and with the trauma they already had Jason didn't think adding more would be a good idea.

Dick didn't wander long, ending up at a door Jason had seen in his nightmare. There was even a strap of cloth on the handle, this one beige instead of silky black. Dick didn't even notice, twisting the handle and walking inside. Jason followed, the room not what he had expected it would be. 

There was a symbol drawn out on the floor, Constantine lying in the middle. There was a gash on his temple, a blunt force used to knock him out. His coat had been ripped to shreds, the arms and tail tossed in scattered patterns around it, like confetti. Bruce was nowhere to be found, but at the end, right at the window, was the other Dick.

He was fainter than Jason remembered. Like a memory being slowly forgotten. His eyes still burnt blue as he looked at them, the sheer hate behind them promising Dick, the real Dick, that whatever he had planned was not going to be nice.

"Dick," Jason hissed, pulling on his brother's arm. "Dick, wake up. Come on."

Dick didn't listen, it was like he couldn't. So Jason didn't wait for him to come to his senses. Before the demon could get close to them Jason hoisted Dick onto his shoulder and ran for it. He didn't care where they went, that thing in there was faint, it was faint! It was losing its hold here. Barry was wrong, Jason could see that in the desperation, in the hate the demon showed. It couldn't exist here on its own, but it could exist. So long as Dick merged with him that was.

The demon must have been desperate since Jason could hear it as it trailed after them. Either that or it was messing with him. Whatever it was, the noise, the hold he had over Dick, his brother started going wild in his arms. Dick was a force to be reckoned with. His personality usually stopped a fight before it broke out, but if that didn't work Dick was capable of taking care of himself. He could take Bruce on an average day. Jason was a piece of cake to him.

He got slammed three times in the head before he remembered how to block. Jason could feel the demon approaching, the air cooling around him as it got closer. Jason dodged a grapple, twisting Dick around until he could grab under his knees. He sent an apology to Dick as he knocked him out and dragged him away.

He needed to get Dick somewhere the demon couldn't get. Or at least out run it until it faded completely. Kind of hard to do since Jason didn't know what he was dealing with here.

He'd made it to the study when his legs flew out from under him. Dick landed on top of him, his weight not something Jason would call light as he scrambled against an invisible force. He pushed Dick off, away, tried to mould him through the doorway as light footsteps got louder and louder. He got Dick's hand in pulling against the invisible force enough to get the door closed before he fell back. The demon was pissed, he outright growled at Jason when he saw he was empty handed, his body even fainter than the last time Jason had seen him. 

Jason swallowed, pinning his back to the door, one last defence against his brother and this thing. "Are you really going to do this?" He asked. "I thought you hated your other self." The demon wasn't in the mood for listening as it scoured the hallway, its senses must be dulling if it couldn't locate Dick through whatever it usually did. Jason tried again, tried to distract it, refocus its attention. He was good with that, it was what he'd been trained to do after all. "Demon," he called, Dick halting for a moment before kicking down the door just before Jason. "That's what he calls you," Jason called, making sure he wasn't going to be ignored. "The other me. The one you like. He liked you too you know. Deep down. He thought you were lonely, why you turned Bruce. But, he'd been convinced you couldn't be. That demons didn't feel like he did. But I know you do because you're Dick. No matter what universe, what timeline, you always feel and you feel so strongly. It must have been hard, at first, for you to do what you do." He didn't know if his words were having any affect, all he could hear from the next room was crashing, things breaking, being overturned. He thought of all the clean up they were going to have to do after this. "You said you fell. Like an angel, right? Sounds more like you." Dick came back out, Jason barely able to see him if it weren't for the flames still glowing brightly in his eyes. "You don't have to do this Dick. You're better here, you help people."

The demon's eyes landed on the door he was guarding, Jason readying himself for a fight. He didn't even wait, lunging at the creature, his hands hitting air as it mystified around him. He turned, ready to leap again when something hard whacked him at the back of his head. "You don't know what you're talking about," Dick hissed before his world went black.

He woke to someone dabbing his head. Bruce blurred into view when he chanced a look, the motion almost having him sick as he flopped back down to the bed beneath him. 

He was in his old room. His hated old room with its same old walls and same old sheets. His head was fuzzy, his mouth tasting of something sickly sweet he was probably going to be yelling at Bruce about later. He couldn't hear anyone else in the room with him as Bruce went back to cleaning him up. Somehow that wasn't a soothing thought. 

"What happened?" He croaked.

"We got rid of the demon," Bruce told him, everything coming back to Jason when he did. As much as it pained Jason to do so he pried his eyes open, checking again to see if there was anyone else in the room with him. Bruce caught him looking. "Dick's fine. I put him in his room, Alfred's looking after him."

"What happened?" Jason asked again.

Bruce told him. He told him about the first plan, the one to summon the demon and banish it from the house. Constantine hadn't been sure it would work, he'd never dealt with a demon from another timeline after all, and since Bruce hated uncertainty, they spent the afternoon coming up with other plans to get rid of it. "We figured if it was staying in this world it would want to get rid of Dick. Constantine said that demons don't like imitations, and since the demon would see Dick as inferior he would probably try and kill him. I wanted to tell you, Dick too, but Constantine said the demon had latched on to you, that they tend to stay close. If we had any hope of outsmarting it we couldn't be talking while we were around you." So, they set up a number of traps from the book Father Todd gave them around the house. One in the cave, one in the study, the bedroom where Constantine was waiting, Jason's old bedroom where, yeah, he could see the paint if he squinted hard enough around the blurriness. There were other places too, ones close enough to Bruce's bedroom that Dick would run into without looking. They had planned on Dick being the one to run, to lead the demon to one of these traps where Constantine or Bruce would get rid of it. They hadn't been planning on the deterioration. "They usually like to make a sport out of it. I thought he would be giving Dick a chance not..." possession. 

"Guess you're lucky you had me then," Jason huffed.

"I'm always lucky to have you Jaybird," Bruce said.

Jason tried to feign unconsciousness so he wouldn't have to respond. He couldn't deal with emotional things when he was this whacked out. Faking turned to real sleep after a while, Jason dreaming of the other him, of how, even if he had just said that stuff to the creature in the hopes of getting it to go for him, rather unsuccessful he knew, it was still true on some level. Looks like Jason couldn't escape Dick in any universe.


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey."

Jason looked up, hiding the cigarette he knew he shouldn't be smoking so soon after being released from the manor. "Hey."

Dick brushed his hands awkwardly on his Nightwing suit, looking for all the world like a nervous teenager. "So, you kind of skipped out before I could talk to you."

Jason nodded, "That's because I didn't want you to talk to me." As soon as he woke up the second time he figured there was nothing keeping him at the manor any more. Bruce went out to get the rest of his brood, Jason hearing them slamming doors and shouting through the halls as he cleaned up. Not one of them came to check in his room to see if he was okay, all of them passing it so they could get to Dick. He heard Damian make some comment about being able to spot a demon from miles off, the air light even as Tim snapped something back at him. He wasn't wanted in the manor, and he got that, he understood why they didn't come to see him. If he was honest, he didn't want them to either. His head hurt too much to be able to do much more than gather his things together. He doubted he would have been able to make it through a family reunion without snapping at one of his siblings himself. Only, when Jason did it, things seemed to fly out of proportion. It was better if he just left quietly.

"B went mad when he found out," Dick laughed. 

Jason just bet. He was actually surprised Bruce wasn't trailing Dick. He did that sometimes, just after they had recovered from a cold or stomach flu. He would follow them, make sure they were okay as they patrolled. It was his own way of parenting without actually parenting. Kind of crappy, sure, but if it meant Jason wasn't facing Bruce any time soon he was okay with that. Only, he hadn't seen a shadow the first night he went out as Red Hood again. He'd figured Bruce was after Dick, but, since Jason still couldn't see a shadow where there shouldn't be, he figured maybe Bruce was trying a different approach this time. 

Joy.

"Can I sit?" Dick asked.

"You're asking?" Usually Dick just sat himself wherever. Jason remembered one favourable time when he almost got tossed over a roof because Dick shimmied himself closer than he should have. 

Dick came over, sitting gently next to Jason on the ledge. Since he probably wasn't going to get away with taking another drag Jason tossed the remaining butt over the edge, watching it fall behind his lenses. Dick was unusually quiet next to him, his hands still fidgeting with the bricks beneath them. 

Jason sighed when he'd had enough. It was late, he had a bed waiting for him and a new safe house he didn't need following back to. "What do you want Nightwing?"

Dick breathed shakily next to him. "A number of things actually. Since you skipped out, I'm here on behalf of Bruce too. He wants to know if you want to go to counselling."

"Counselling? Why the hell would I-" Right, the whole rape thing. "Tell him I'll pass." Jason had long ago learnt how to deal with that trauma. Really, the only thing keeping him up at night were the noises he would hear. Living alone had its disadvantages. One being, when Jason heard a knock, even if it was just a pipe rattling, it sent his senses tingling. It would be a while before he stopped sleeping with a knife so close to his pillow. But, other than that, he didn't need someone, definitely not a counsellor, to tell his woes to. "Next," Jason ordered.

Dick actually smiled for this one, "Well, don't tell D I told you he asked, but there's a new production of Coriolanus that he needs someone to take him to. I was going to offer going with him, but I thought, why not ask someone who won't fall asleep."

"The brat asked for me?" Jason could barely believe what he was hearing. 

Yet Dick shrugged that smile still on his face. "He said if you picked him up and didn't talk through it he would suffer your company for an evening. It's basically his way of saying he'd love to go with you."

That was, unexpected. So much so Jason didn't really have an answer right away.

It got to the point where Dick was going on to his next point just to alleviate the silence again. "Anyway. Agent A wanted me to remind you that you're still expected at movie night in a few weeks and I... I just wanted to see you." Jason knew why, he could hear the emotion bleeding into Dick's voice. It was still a marvel to hear it, to know that they had won. That this was Dick in front of him, not the other thing. It would never be the other thing again. "You know, we're going to have to talk sometime."

"Or," Jason countered. "We don't and we just file this under things that are never mentioned."

"Jay," Dick tried.

"Nightwing," Jason reminded, him for once not breaking the no real names in the field rule. "It's over, we won, why is that not enough for you?"

"Because that thing was me," Dick snapped. "That thing was me Jay and I can't get over that. I can't get over what it did. It..." He took a deep breath, his anger simmering, cooling slightly so it wasn't so explosive. Jason knew it wasn't directed at him, Dick was just frustrated that Jason didn't feel the same passion he did for this subject that was all. "How do you do it? How do you look at me and not see it?"

Oh, so that was it. Sometimes in circumstances like these it was hard not to be a little self centred. Jason was the one at the end of the creatures desires sure, but it had taken Dick for a ride. It had used him, made him do things he didn't want to do. It had effectively violated him too. Jason bet it was harder for Dick to move on than Jason. For Jason, he had experience, he could separate the two things into the creature that had threatened his life and his brother, Dick, the guy that he would do anything for and who he was never going to tell he felt that way. But Dick, every time he looked in a mirror he was looking at the person who ruined him. He saw what he could become, and it probably terrified him that the other him shared anything in common with present him.

Also, as much as Jason would like to tell Dick that he wasn't that thing, he wasn't evil or manipulative, which was true, he couldn't because that wasn't all the creature was. Some part of it, the part Jason didn't get to see, the part that had latched on to Father Todd for reasons more than feeding, was human. It felt loneliness and humour. It was capable of being kind. The point was that Jason wouldn't have been so confused if that thing wasn't like Dick in some way.

So Jason couldn't tell his brother that. What he could say was, "Look, it's just like going to another universe. When we go there and we see these other versions of us, we know they're us, but they're not. They have the same essence, and yeah, Dick the demon did too, but it's not you. It chose to do those evil things. It told me itself it chose the life it had. But you chose yours too. You chose to be considerate, to ask people if they were comfortable before you did something. You're Nightwing. It's going to take some time before you can look at yourself again, but, you've been through worse. And if it's any consolation, when I look at you, I only see the parts of the creature that were good. The parts that make you, you Dick."

Jason watched the city when he was done. He'd always been bad at this making people feel better stuff. He liked to show rather than tell, so when Dick stroked his fingers over his hand Jason turned his palm up. It wasn't a hug. Jason didn't think it would be for a while. But it was something, and that was what Dick needed right now. He didn't need an easy fix, he just needed to know that everything would be good in time.

"You would've made a good priest Jay."

"I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there may be a follow up with actual JayDick. But for now I'm going to leave this at here. It didn't feel right making it a quick thing, there needs to be another lump of story for it.  
> Anyway, thank you for reading, I hope you liked it. This was my first foray into JayDick and gotta say I kind of like this ship so I think I'll do a few more fics in it.


End file.
